Encyclopedia of Eternia
by Aidan J S Cross
Summary: My own retelling of the ENTIRE Masters of the Universe saga... right through from the beginnings of Eternia to the very end! A new chapter will be posted each week...
1. 1 The First Civilizations of Eternia

**Author's note:** This is my own personal retelling of the Masters of the Universe story, utilizing elements of all official continuities combined with my own ideas. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe are the property of Mattel, Inc. This story and all original characters within are the property of the author.

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**Encyclopedia of Eternia**

**SECTION 1: HISTORY**

**Chapter 1: The First Civilizations of Eternia**

The battle between good and evil is almost as old as the universe itself. As soon as the prime consciousness of the universe created matter, the presence of matter evoked the essence of otherness. Out of otherness was born fear, and out of fear was born the battle for domination. Out of the battle for domination was born the notions of right and wrong. And thus began the timeless conflict between good and evil.

As evolution spread throughout the planet that would come to be known as Eternia, intelligent life developed, and human civilization was born. In the early days of humanity, Eternia was populated by tribes. Numerous groups of different peoples and races were established throughout Eternia, each carrying their own myths, fables and legends, each worshipping their own Gods and Goddesses. Many of the tribes were nomadic, and traveled from area to area, spreading over the whole planet. Other tribes chose to settle permanently in single areas, and the first villages and settlements were built.

The oldest Eternian legend of the battles between Good and Evil is that of The Goddess, and her enemy, the great God Serpos. The Goddess was a beautiful, green-skinned woman, her torso covered by red cobra armor, carrying a staff in the shape of a cobra. She represented tranquility between humanity and nature, the balance between the humans, the animals, and the environment. She was the ultimate symbol of peace and unity. Her enemy, Serpos, manifested in the form of a demonic, three-headed snake, his sharp fangs dripping with blood. Serpos represented everything that was vile and savage about the spirit. He was the essence of hatred, destruction, greed and debauchery, the mindless savagery that struggled to overcome the sanctity of nature. Although Serpos possessed incredible power, and was easily capable of seducing ordinary humans into his evil ways, the Goddess had the greater power, for she had the forces of love and harmony within her being. Thus, no matter how severe the evil acts of Serpos, the love of the Goddess would always overcome him. While many Gods and Goddesses were worshipped by the tribes of Prehistoric Eternia, The Goddess herself was the definitive deity, the most powerful and most highly worshipped of all deities of the universe.

After several centuries of evolution, a group of traveling thinkers from a multitude of different tribes congregated together with the intention of developing a full and clear understanding of the world around them and beyond. By eliminating the essence of otherness from their perception, and viewing the universe as a single entity, they believed they could eradicate altogether the temptation of fear, and thus the desire for war and conflict, enabling the universe to live in ultimate harmony. Such an understanding of Nature and the Gods would enable them to stabilize a permanent balance within their world, and possibly even spread this balance throughout the entire universe.

Together, within their base, a small wooden hut atop a rocky precipice, they established themselves as The Council of the Wise, and began their great metaphysical exploration of their world, which they named Eternia, meaning 'world that will last for eternity'. The Council of the Wise was comprised of many great magicians, sorceresses, philosophers, scientists and astronomers, who had all spent many years practising their arts in order to enhance their understanding of nature. The magicians, sorcerers and sorceresses developed the skills of magic to control the forces of nature for its own good, and to see into realms beyond their immediate surroundings. The scientists, meanwhile, focused their studies on the material world, to develop a full understanding of the essence of matter. The astronomers fixed their focus on the skies above, and studied the stars to understand that which lay beyond the world they inhabited. The philosophers took into account the discoveries of all the others, and developed great wisdom about the workings of the universe, through their analysis of the Council's findings. The studies of the Council led them to conclude that magic and science should work in harmony to ensure the balance of nature, and the sanctity of all living creatures.

Following their discoveries, the humble dwelling of the Council's wooden hut was to become the center of all great knowledge and power within Eternia. The Council embarked on a mission to spread the word of their findings throughout the whole of the planet. Individual members of the Council would travel throughout Eternia, utilizing their incredible power, and spreading their philosophy of peace and the workings of nature throughout all the many tribes that populated the planet. The wise Elders soon became the most respected people on the planet, but insisted that despite their power and knowledge they must be regarded as ordinary people like the rest- superiority was a mere illusion, and the essence of nature lay in equality and harmony between all living beings- no matter how weak or powerful they may initially seem, all beings were equally blessed with the power of universal divinity.

Eternia soon became a world of great peace and harmony. Men and women, different races, magic and science, humans and animals, all lived in balance. Amongst the majority of the tribes, there was no such thing as prejudice or discrimination. Everybody respected one another, and wars and conflict were infrequent.

However, there were threats to the balance of nature, and these threats eventually began to grow in severity. There were some tribes and sorcerers on Eternia who refused to accept the philosophy of the Council of the Wise, and refuted the notion that all living beings were created equally. In their mind, living in the material world necessitated the need for hierarchy in order to ensure the survival of the fittest in the struggle for power. These groups dedicated their worship to the Gods and Goddesses of darkness, those who advocated brute force in the quest for survival. Together, the dark tribes of Eternia gathered into a single traveling community dedicated to overcoming the widespread beliefs of The Council of the Wise. As they relished the night as their time of action, and took shelter during the daylight hours, they became known as The Nocturnals.

The leader of the Nocturnals was a strange being known as Lord Masque. His origins were unknown, but he seemed to be more of a dark shadow than a man, his metaphysical form concentrated within a shell of armor, his conscience concentrated into physical form by the metal mask which covered the cowl serving as his head. Legend has it that Lord Masque was himself a spirit of evil, banished from the physical realms by the Goddess centuries ago, who had somehow managed to achieve a return to the physical realm by concentrating his power into this mysterious mask. Lord Masque worshipped the Goddess Shokoti, to whom he referred as his 'Mistress'. Shokoti was the Goddess of Destruction, her semi-reptilian form leading some tribes to believe she was an offspring of the God Serpos. Lord Masque's exact connection to Shokoti was unknown, but his referral to her as 'Mistress' evoked the belief in many that he was a former servant or possibly apprentice of the great Shokoti.

On the deepest reaches of the Sands of Time, Eternia's widest stretch of desert, Lord Masque erected a huge, solid stone temple as a monument to Shokoti. The temple was constructed with the desire to bring forth the goddess Shokoti to the physical realm of Eternia to bring about the destruction of the system of harmony, and The Council of the Wise themselves.

A great ritual was held on the Sands of Time to call forth Shokoti. The Nocturnals gathered together, utilizing their magic to summon forth the great Goddess of Destruction. Within the temple, Shokoti finally manifested, in her traditional form of a blue-skinned, half-reptilian woman with long, flowing black hair. With Lord Masque as her prime messenger, Shokoti set about making her presence known throughout Eternia, by working her evil magic across the planet, spreading darkness and fear throughout the world. By utilizing the power of fear, she evoked numerous tribes across Eternia to succumb to her will and pledge their loyalty. She thus became known as The Living Darkness.

As more and more of Eternia's peaceful tribes were consumed by Shokoti's corruption and hierarchy, the Council of the Wise, concerned by this increasing threat to Eternia's sanctity, elected their strongest warrior, the philosopher Zodac, to restore the balance of Eternia. Zodac was a man of incredible strength and power, and he used his great abilities to traverse across Eternia, defending tribes and settlements from the onslaught of Shokoti, Lord Masque and The Nocturnals. He quickly realized through his battles that the power of Shokoti was the power of fear. The tribes of Eternia were succumbing to Shokoti because of one major element- they feared her, and were thus led into following her regardless of whether or not they agreed with what she stood for. Zodac, therefore, encouraged the tribes of Eternia to act in spite of their fear, and rebel against Shokoti's evil regardless of the possible consequences. The tribes began to follow Zodac's orders, confronting their fears and rising up against Shokoti and the Nocturnals, with their magic and strength. They were able to disarm Shokoti and her forces by showing no fear, and as more and more tribes rebelled against her, Zodac and the Council were able to use their powers to seal Shokoti within her temple permanently. The temple was then sunk into the ground, and Lord Masque was also overpowered by the Council's magic, imprisoned in a hidden cell on the Sands of Time.

Following the defeat of Shokoti, many ordinary Eternians increased their faith in the Council of the Wise, and began to flock to their wooden hut to pledge their loyalty, confess their crimes and achieve redemption. Zodac was hailed throughout Eternia as a great being of divinity. For several decades, the evil forces of Eternia caused no major harm to the planet's tranquility. The war with Shokoti had positively expanded the consciousness of the Eternians to a large extent- for they now understood the power of fear, and how it was necessary to travel through the dark side to fully embrace the light.

But although Shokoti and Lord Masque had been defeated, The Nocturnals as a group were still very much intact, and escaped justice at the hands of the Council, fleeing to a remote, uninhabited continent on Eternia's Western side. Concentrating their powers of darkness together, they called forth the spirits of darkness to congregate on this single continent, forming a mass of black clouds which completely blocked out the sun. The barren continent was plunged into eternal darkness, and became known as the Black Continent.

Through their contact with the spirits of evil, The Nocturnals were provided with the ability to travel beyond the world of Eternia, through the emergence of a gateway to another galaxy- a galaxy which revolved around a small sun with the dimmest light. The worlds of this galaxy were dark, cold and deadly. On one of these worlds, populated by ferocious demons and repulsive deadly species, members of The Nocturnals began to develop a civilization of their own. In unison with the spirits of evil, they spread their magic across the planet and turned this world into an exact polar opposite of Eternia, where peace and tranquility were nonexistent, and fear and destruction reigned supreme. They named this planet Infinita. The power that The Nocturnals gained from Infinita proved a strong advantage for them- for they were now able to concentrate their energy towards unleashing the most dreaded demonic entity of all. This entity was none other than the legendary God Serpos.


	2. 2 The War of Serpos

**Chapter 2: The War Of Serpos**

Approximately a year after the defeat of Shokoti, one member of the Council of the Wise sensed a ripple in Eternia's dimensional barrier, and traced it to the Black Continent. Zodac led the astronomers of the council into the stars, to traverse the galaxies and locate the source of the dimensional rift. They tracked it down to the newly established world of Infinita, and from above, observed the actions of the Nocturnals who had inhabited this planet.

They brought back tales to the Council of how this galaxy was festering with dark energy, and Infinita, located on the edge of this dark and cold solar system, was populated by thousands of evil beings whose way of life totally contrasted with that of the Eternians. The planet was ruled by monstrous demons which infiltrated the entire world with war, poverty and destruction. Every day on Infinita was a struggle to survive- and given the constant wars which engulfed the planet, this was an incredibly difficult task. Zodac sensed that the great evil within the whole of Infinita's galaxy was in some way centered around a great force of darkness present on an extremely large planet in the center of the galaxy. But this great power, whatever it was, was blocking even his own powers from exploring the planet.

Eventually, in an enormous, epic fusion of the Nocturnals' power of darkness, a dimensional portal opened in the skies above the Black Continent, and out flew Serpos, the dreaded Snake God. The legendary deity of corruption, hatred and destruction was now present on Eternia, carrying with it an enormous threat to the planet's tranquility.

With his gigantic and terrifying form, Serpos proved a far more intimidating and deadly threat to Eternia than Shokoti ever had. He was so powerful that even Zodac could not hope to defeat him alone. The Council of the Wise worked together on combining their power and wisdom into one strong force of peace and harmony to counter Serpos' evil and destruction.

For the first time in history, full-scale war raged across Eternia. While several tribes succumbed to the influence of Serpos, lured by the power of fear, other peaceful races were forced to enter war in order to save themselves from the fate of destruction or corruption. The Nocturnals were a strong force and wreaked havoc all over Eternia, hoping to merge the planet with Infinita. Numerous races of fearsome demons from around Eternia joined the war, and the evil of Serpos allowed evil to breed across the planet. More and more fierce demonic races began to evolve across Eternia.

The Council of the Wise sent a call across Eternia, for all the most powerful magicians of the planet to join them in their fight against Serpos. Their call was answered by many great sorcerers and sorceresses from all round Eternia. Together, they utilized their powers in battle against Serpos and the Nocturnals, but the powers of Serpos were extreme, and destruction continued to rage across Eternia. So the Council of the Wise held a sacred ritual in their hut together with the sorcerers, combining their powers, concentrating on unifying the forces of light to counter Serpos' evil. As they unified their magic powers, a great field of rainbow-colored light formed in the air above them. A voice emitted from this field of light, and explained that it was a metaphysical entity representing the essence of light, which served to evoke hope in the minds of the living. It was therefore known as Light Hope.

Light Hope told the Council that in order to fully counter the evil of Serpos, they must summon The Goddess, the great deity who had kept Serpos at bay according to legend. The key to summoning The Goddess, he explained, was to utilize the powers of a magical forest on one of Eternia's neighbouring planets. This planet, said Light Hope, was a peaceful world populated, like Eternia, by tribes. Although its natives had not yet gained the power and knowledge of the Eternians, their world was a tranquil place covered mostly by grassland and vegetation, in which humans lived in perfect balance with animals and plant life. The essence of harmony with nature was concentrated at its strongest in a forest known as the Whispering Woods, so called because the trees there were said to hold the great knowledge of nature, which was spread in their whispers amidst the breeze. The essence of harmony within the Whispering Woods was so strong that no evil force could penetrate its barriers. Since The Goddess was an embodiment of harmony between humans, animals and nature, her presence was prevalent throughout the Whispering Woods, and the powers of this place would enable the Council to summon her.

Following Light Hope's orders, Zodac led the Council of the Wise to this neighboring planet, as yet unnamed. Reaching the Whispering Woods, they harnessed its powers of natural tranquility to bring forth the almighty deity worshipped for centuries by the tribes of Eternia- The Goddess. The Goddess appeared just as the legends described her, as a green-skinned woman with red cobra armor and a staff in the shape of a cobra. The Goddess joined the Council upon their return to Eternia, to do battle with her old enemy, Serpos.

The Goddess and Zodac led the Council of the Wise, and the accompanying magicians, into battle with Serpos and his minions. After a long and hard struggle, the forces of good were able to use their combined powers to overcome Serpos as they engaged in battle on the Black Continent. Serpos was stunned and rendered helpless by their radiant forces of light and justice. As Serpos hung paralyzed in mid-air, The Goddess, the Council, and the sorcerers used their powers to imprison him in a solid mountain structure in the center of the Black Continent. Serpos was trapped, and unable to escape. The forces of good now stood before the army of the Nocturnals, with Light Hope shining above them. Together with the tribes of Eternia, now free from the influence of Serpos, they rushed towards them in battle. The Nocturnals panicked, realizing they stood no chance of victory, and were immediately scattered by the forces of good. Many of them were taken prisoner in the battle; others fled, some to Infinita, some to other dimensions, and some to other areas of Eternia, weak and drained of power. Others chose the option of suicide as their escape from the forces of light, while others were redeemed and defected from the side of darkness. Finally, the group of evildoers that was the Nocturnals was no more. The power of good shone throughout the whole of Eternia.

With Serpos imprisoned, and the Nocturnals finally defeated, peace reigned over Eternia once more. Through their countless centuries of studying the universe, practising their magic and science and fighting for peace, the Council of the Wise had become the most powerful beings in the universe. They had all the secrets, power and knowledge to become Masters of the Universe. But they knew that this power was in safe hands, and while they possessed it, it would never be abused. The Goddess stated that the time had come for the Council to spread their wisdom throughout the universe in order to keep the forces of balance and harmony universally intact. Most members of the Council were now more or less immortal- almost more like Gods than regular humans. So the Council of the Wise became the Cosmic Enforcers, and together, they all left Eternia to travel throughout the universe, watching over the entire cosmos to sustain its balance. As he had been Eternia's prime savior in its years of battle, Zodac was given the role of watching over Eternia.

As the Cosmic Enforcers left for the stars, the remaining sorcerers and sorceresses who had worked with them stayed on Eternia, and became the Council of Elders. The Goddess told them that with their incredible knowledge and power, they should use their magic to form a larger and more complex base than the simple wooden hut they had occupied for many years. A base that would house the secrets and power of the universe, and stand as a monument to justice, harmony, peace, and most importantly, wisdom. In the spot where the hut stood, the Elders and the Goddess used their magic to form the Hall of Wisdom, a magnificent and magical complex, the rare metals from which it was constructed shining with immense radiance, symbolizing hope and goodness to all. The entire history of Eternia, and all the wisdom of the universe, was contained within its walls. Many of the corridors were lined with Space Portals, which enabled transportation to any other planet in the universe.

To further stabilize the harmony of Eternia and protect the planet from another rise of evil, the Elders chose to install a system of monarchy which would rule over all Eternia, abiding by the wisdom of the Council. Kingdoms were formed all over Eternia, and as technology expanded, civilization began to grow. The first cities of the planet began to develop.

After the formation of the Hall of Wisdom, several of the Elders traveled to the neighboring world where the Whispering Woods lay, and adopted it as a sister planet to Eternia. The whole planet, radiant with incredible harmony among nature, the spirit of goodness present within the air, had a truly ethereal feel, so the Elders named this world Etheria, meaning 'world of the ethereal'. They began to travel across this incredibly beautiful planet, exploring its material and magical resources and spreading their philosophy and wisdom to its natives. They also used their power to form a fortress that would act as Etheria's equivalent of the Hall of Wisdom, as a sanctuary for truth, justice and peace. Made from resplendent crystal, they named it the Crystal Castle, and Light Hope agreed to act as its guardian. The Crystal Castle would serve as a symbol of healing and justice if evil forces ever threatened Etheria, and would be invisible to all but the Elders, its sentiments of peace radiated out towards the minds of the Etherians. The Elders established culture and global wisdom on Etheria, and became known throughout the planet's history as 'The First Ones'.

Back on Eternia, peace reigned across the planet, and under the new system of monarchy, the world began to flourish. But although Eternia was peaceful once again, the evil forces were still concentrated in desolate regions. The former leader of the Nocturnals, Zendar the Unholy, had fled to the Desert of Desolation, where together with his wife and several of his followers, he set up a Temple for them to continue their dark practices. Their aim was to concentrate and expand their dark magic, and pass it down through the generations, to form an ultimate being of darkness and destruction who would be born of the family bloodstream in centuries to come. A prophecy, written by Zendar on the walls of the temple, reads:

_"When the forces of light and darkness clash in the ultimate battle for the universe,  
the darkness will spawn a being to epitomize its very essence.  
He will walk upon the light side,  
He will walk upon the dark.  
But no matter where he may tread,  
He will always leave his mark.  
Destruction shall engulf his walked path,  
For he shall be the Lord of Destruction."_


	3. 3 The Regime of King Hiss

**Chapter 3: The Ophidian War and the Regime of King Hiss**

Although Eternia was peaceful following the defeat of Serpos, back on the Black Continent, the snake deity's defeat had led nevertheless to a horrific aftermath. A race of grotesque mutant hybrids between humans and snakes had evolved in the wake of Serpos' defeat, known collectively as the Ophidians, or Snake People. No-one is exactly sure how the Snake People arrived on Eternia. Some say they came from another dimension that was leaked onto Eternia following the dimensional rifts involved in the war of Serpos. Others say they were formerly human members of the Nocturnals, mutated by the magic of Serpos. Others say they were simply the offspring of Serpos itself. What was known for sure was that they were of cold blood and intensely evil minds. They constructed a fortress out of the mountain which Serpos had become upon his imprisonment, which they named Snake Mountain, devoting as a monument to Serpos, their ultimate God.

For many centuries after their emergence on the Black Continent, the Snake People refrained from venturing beyond its barriers. But as their race grew in size, they began to make further ventures into the regular lands of Eternia, committing acts of crime and violence. At first the Elders and the monarchs of Eternia saw them as nothing more than a band of petty criminals, and foiled their crimes easily. But the Snake People bred, and evolved further, and the threat they posed became far more serious following the appearance of a member of their race who seemed to possess the power of a thousand of the regular Snake People. He was a colossal, five-headed serpent warrior and sorcerer, possessing incredible power which would prove to rival that of the Elders. He had a much longer lifespan than the rest of his race, and fed almost entirely on living creatures- including members of his own race, once they were too old or injured to serve him well, or had simply evoked his wrath. He was even said by some to be a partial incarnation of Serpos itself. The sound of his distinctive, loud hiss could evoke fear in living beings from miles away, so he became known as The Great Hiss. This powerful being had one dominant goal- conquest of Eternia, and he arranged the members of his race into armies, which marched towards the regular lands of Eternia.

Kingdoms were unprepared for the sudden immense attacks they received from the Snake Army, and many kingdoms were quickly conquered by these gruesome creatures. More and more kingdoms fell to the Snake Army, and the Elders suffered greater difficulty in repelling them. The Royal army of Eternia's ruling capital, Solacios, mobilized defenses to counter the Snake Men. As the most powerful military force in Eternia, they provided the strongest resistance to the Snake Army's attacks aside from the Elders.

But Hiss could not be defeated so easily. As his magic powers grew, he developed the skill to disguise himself as a human, conjuring up false human skin to conceal his true form. In this form, he pledged his services as a warrior to the Royal Family of Solacios, and was accepted into their ranks as a defender. He played along with their views of him as a noble warrior, by defending the city from the Snake Army in three staged attacks. Then, he took the Royal city by surprise by ripping off his false skin in the Royal Court and killing the entire Royal Family, as his army attacked once again. The Royal soldiers stood no chance against this unexpected assault, and almost all of them were killed within three hours. The entire kingdom lay in ruins. Hiss returned to his base in Snake Mountain, where he issued a proclamation across Eternia, declaring himself to be King of Eternia, ruling from Snake Mountain. Subsequently, his army destroyed thousands of villages and towns, slaughtering their inhabitants. Hundreds of innocent people were killed each day, and the feeling of equality and communion amongst the people of Eternia gradually vanished completely. Eternia had become the total opposite of what it used to be.

Now that he was officially ruler of Eternia, and was spreading his evil across the planet, King Hiss set his sights on his next goal- the Hall of Wisdom. It had been the power of the Elders that had contributed to the defeat of Serpos and his imprisonment in Snake Mountain. If Hiss could usurp the Elders' power and gain access to their secrets, he would be able to expand his power even more, release Serpos, and possibly even spread his rule across the universe.

He led his army into battle in a huge assault on the Hall of Wisdom. He almost succeeded in breaching its walls, and only through an almighty effort did the Elders manage to fend the Snake Army off. After the battle, the Elders realized just how immensely the sanctity of their power was being threatened. Already, Eternia was being engulfed by destruction and poverty, and life had become a nightmare for the regular humans. If King Hiss got hold of the power of the Elders, the whole of Eternia- and possibly even the universe- would surely be doomed. But while the power of the Elders was greater than that of the Snake Army, the Snake Army's power was rapidly increasing, and King Hiss was undoubtedly more powerful than any of the Elders individually. The system of global equality devised centuries ago by the Council of the Wise was at risk of collapsing in ultimate destruction.  
So the leader of the Elders, Keclar, called to the stars for help. As the Elders were gathered in the throne room of the Hall of Wisdom, their prayers were answered. A beam of immense bright light filled the room, and out stepped The Goddess, the perfect counter to the Snake Army's evil. She explained that as long as the forces of darkness continued to target Eternia, there must be some sort of extreme measures taken to ensure defense. Ancient legends among the deities of the universe told of how on Eternia's darkest day, a great champion would come to defend Eternia from the forces of evil, and lead the forces of good into the ultimate showdown between good and evil. He would have the strength of ten thousand men, and a mind of true dignity and nobility. His name would be He-Man!  
The Goddess explained that when that dark day came, they must select an ordinary mortal from the people of Eternia, and project their powers onto him. He would become He-Man, and act as their defender. As he gained the power of the Elders, he would effectively double their force as their power duplicated within his physique. The Elders must forge a mighty sword to act as a channel for their power, which would be presented to the chosen defender.

The Elders and The Goddess later held a sacred ritual within the deepest confines of the Hall of Wisdom, accompanied by Zodac, and several other Cosmic Enforcers. Together, gathered in a circle, they concentrated their powers together, and beamed them into the center, forming the Sword of Power. Although it had the appearance of an ordinary sword, this weapon possessed incredible power that would be used by the chosen defender to channel and duplicate the power of the Elders within himself. The Goddess instructed the Elders to decide carefully when the time for He-Man had come. Only when the ultimate force of darkness struck Eternia, and all seemed lost, would He-Man be needed. With that, The Goddess and the Cosmic Enforcers vanished in a beam of light energy.

At first, the Elders believed now must be the time to select from the ordinary Eternians the man who would be granted the power to become He-Man. But they chose to wait before making the decision for certain. Before selecting the defender, they had to be entirely sure that there was no other hope for Eternia. A call was sent out across the planet for a powerful defender to come to their aid.

Their call was soon answered by a young wizard, named Gray. Gray explained that he came from a tribe of powerful magicians and warriors, some of whom had aided the Elders during the war of Serpos. He had had a natural flare for magic since childhood- and on top of that, he was a mighty warrior, with great physical strength to match his magic power, providing him with a perfect unison of physical and metaphysical force. Gray was beaming with youthful over-exuberance, so the Elders suspected he may be exaggerating his ability to some extent. But one of the Elders said that he had tutored Gray in magic before, and his powers were indeed incredible. So Gray was permitted to take residence in the Hall of Wisdom as a defender.

When the Snake Army next attacked, Gray led the Elders into battle. King Hiss had become even more powerful, after absorbing the power of an ancient crystal forged by the Nocturnals. King Hiss enacted his strongest assault on the Hall of Wisdom yet. But when he came face to face with Gray, he was immediately set back by this warrior wizard's amazing strength. Realizing he was no match for Gray's physical strength, King Hiss summoned all his magic powers to counter his new opponent. But Gray retaliated by displaying his own magic powers, which not only weakened Hiss, but scattered his minions like flies. Overpowered by the might of the Elders and their amazing new defender, King Hiss ordered his army to make a hasty retreat, and they fled back to Snake Mountain.

Gray was congratulated by the Elders on his victory. He truly was a great hero, with the power to successfully defend Eternia from the Snake Army. He was accepted as their prime defender, and adopted the warrior name of He-Ro. In a subsequent council meeting, he was honored by Zodac and The Goddess and granted a portion of their power, to enhance his own strength against the opposition. It was decided that in its present form, the Hall of Wisdom was too vulnerable to attack force, and too easy for evil to breach. In order to make invasion harder for the enemy, the Hall must be reformed into a larger and more solid structure, in which the great secrets and power of the universe could be concealed more safely.

So the Elders, He-Ro, The Goddess and Zodac held another ritual within the deepest confines of the Hall of Wisdom. The great books which told of the secrets of the universe were burned together so that no evil being may ever lay their hands upon them, and together the Elders projected their knowledge and wisdom into a single object, which would contain all the wisdom of the universe formerly contained within the books, and more. This object was the Glowing Orb, a small sphere shining with radiant white light.  
Their next step was to alter the structure of the Hall of Wisdom, so that the Glowing Orb, and all the power of the Elders, may be contained safely within. Merging their power, the Elders concentrated it towards the structure of the building. The Hall of Wisdom began to glow with a bright aura of light. The light grew and expanded, becoming brighter as it did so. The light engulfed the Hall of Wisdom more and more, until all that could be seen from the outside was the vague outline of the hall. Its shape began to change, as did its structure. Even the material from which the building was made began to change. The Hall of Wisdom slowly formed itself into a great castle, built from deep, gray stone. The front of the castle was covered by a huge stone gray skull, the 'mouth' acting as the Jaw Bridge. The glimmering towers of the Hall of Wisdom had been replaced by the dark, foreboding image of Castle Grayskull, named after Gray. Even the insides of the building changed- gone were the shimmering walls on which the wisdom of the universe was written, and in their place were dark, stone corridors, with thousands of secret, magical rooms, and chambers filled with nothing but swirling energy. The majority of the castle was a maze of chaos- for the castle was filled with the chaos of infinite knowledge and power. Despite its enormous size, the castle seemed even bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.  
During the spell, the Elders' magic had swallowed up a large portion of the surrounding ground, forming a deep and wide abyss around the whole castle. The abyss was far too wide for a human to jump over, and far too deep for anyone to dare- the bottom of the abyss could not be seen from above ground, and it was even said to be bottomless. The act of invasion would now be even more difficult for intruders. The mere image of Castle Grayskull was enough to drive the average invader away.

Following the creation of Grayskull, the Elders were now even better prepared to tackle King Hiss and the Snake Army in battle, led by Gray, who now used the name He-Ro. The war became much more difficult for King Hiss and his Snake Army. Not only could they not enter Grayskull, but the incredible power of He-Ro continued to foil their many attempts to take over the castle. Hiss' schemes grew more evil and cunning as he tried harder and harder to breach the castle, but He-Ro called a great band of warriors to his aid, and together with the Elders, achieved many successes in defending Grayskull and freeing parts of Eternia from the Snake Army's rule.

The war between He-Ro and the Snake Army lasted many years. In the early stages of the war, He-Ro's magic detected a great source of power located within a timeless dimension. Using the time corridors of Grayskull to travel, He-Ro ventured into this dimension, and he met a great sorcerer, who possessed incredible power but had somehow lost his memory, and become stranded in the timeless dimension. He-Ro brought the sorcerer to Eternia, and he proved to have incredible power almost as great as He-Ro's own. The sorcerer, who believed his name was Eldor, was wise and intelligent, and became a mentor to the youthful He-Ro, teaching him to maintain his calm in battle and develop his battle skills to their full potential.

After many years of great battles, King Hiss called upon the Gods of darkness to form a new monument that would serve to concentrate his own power into a single fixed space, and thus rival the power of Grayskull. Together with a team of his Snake Men, he constructed the fortress Viper Tower. Within the walls of Viper Tower was the very power and essence of evil upon which King Hiss' powers were built. A mere entrance to the tower was capable of turning the most heroic and noble of humans into evil savages, and Hiss hoped that its power may someday be used to awaken Serpos.

The presence of Viper Tower created much havoc as King Hiss lured ordinary humans and heroic warriors into its depths and converted them to his side. He-Ro realized that he must take action, but attacking Viper Tower would not be enough, for its power may be strong enough to corrupt him. So instead, He-Ro and the Elders set about forming a tower of goodness opposite Viper Tower, which they named Grayskull Tower, made from the same deep gray stone from which Castle Grayskull was constructed. Grayskull Tower served to further the powers of good, and counter the evil of Viper Tower. He-Ro dispatched lookouts to stand permanently atop Grayskull Tower and observe the action around Viper Tower, so that any ordinary humans lured by Viper Tower's evil could be brought to Grayskull Tower and achieve renewal. As well as freeing ordinary humans from King Hiss' evil, Grayskull Tower also succeeded in converting some of the Snake Army to the side of good. A tribe of Snake People lured into Grayskull Tower by its aura found themselves overwhelmed by the divinity within, and upon their exit, were convinced to turn away from Hiss' evil, and declared their rebellion against Hiss. Calling themselves the Reptons, they separated from the Snake Army and rose up against Hiss alongside the Elders.

King Hiss was furious that the Elders had achieved such success in countering his greatest weapon yet. A huge battle was waged between King Hiss and He-Ro, between the two Towers- but as the magic of both foes coursed throughout the battleground, it fused together between the two Towers, and a third tower was formed- Central Tower, the fusion between the powers of good and evil. The presence of Central Tower caused King Hiss to retreat in dismay, for the Tower was having a terrible effect on him that was turning him good- for the first time in his evil life, he began to have second thoughts about his way of life and the mass genocides he had committed. He fled the scene, and his Snake Men retreated after him.

After the battle, He-Ro and the Elders explored the Three Towers in depth, and realized that Central Tower contained the perfect fusion between the powers of both good and evil to enable the light to permanently overcome the dark. Together, the Three Towers were a perfect monument to the Council of the Wise's ancient philosophy of balance, and were therefore The Ultimate Battleground.

While King Hiss had almost been changed completely by the Towers, he came back days later in an immense fury, more savage and brutal than ever. It is thought that his first ever spark of remorse had strengthened the determination of his inner evil to encompass his whole being. So that the Towers would pose no further threat to him, he attempted to use his army to destroy them outright. But as He-Ro and King Hiss fought atop Central Tower, Hiss was overwhelmed by the heroic power within, and began to shrink from the battle. He quickly regained his composure, and teleported away from the Towers, leading an ultimate assault on Grayskull. With He-Ro still at the site of the Three Towers, Hiss was able to use his immense powers to lower the Jaw Bridge and enter Grayskull for the first time. His army stormed Grayskull, but Hiss was quickly confused and overwhelmed by the chaos and powers of goodness that lay within- and having been weakened by his experiences at The Three Towers, was quickly brought down by He-Ro when the great defender finally caught up with him. The ultimate battle between the two foes ensued within the depths of Grayskull. Realizing he was losing, Hiss teleported back to Snake Mountain, but He-Ro was able to teleport there too, and Hiss was sent spiraling down into a deep chasm beneath Snake Mountain. As he lay unconscious on the ground, the Elders, together with The Goddess, used their powers to overwhelm the scattered Snake Army and banish them into an immense void they had formed beneath the mountain, which led to the timeless dimension from which Eldor had emerged. Almost the entire race was banished to the Void, and finally, after all these years, the great evil that was the Snake Army was defeated.

He-Ro had suffered great wounds in his final battle with Hiss, and used up all of his energy. His limp body was teleported back to Grayskull and laid down in the Recovery Room of the castle, but he had been physically destroyed by the whole ordeal and would clearly not survive. He opened his eyes lightly, and spoke his final words to the Elders:

"There will be ... another ... to come ... after me ... (cough) ... a hero named He-Man ... who will appear during (cough) ... Eternia's darkest day..." After these words, he died, a true savior.

He-Ro was buried deep within Grayskull, and his energy rose from the tomb, and flowed to the chamber where the Sword of Power was kept. The energy entered the sword, to be inherited by the defender He-Ro had prophesized to emerge on Eternia's darkest day.

Although few Snake Men had survived on Eternia following the final battle, the Reptons signed a peace treaty with the Elders, and were permitted to remain on Eternia. Although they had now achieved great respect from the Elders, they declared that to compensate for the crimes of their race, they would base themselves below ground and never bother the world above again. Switching their worship from Serpos to The Goddess, they settled in an underground kingdom beneath a large stone pyramid, and stayed there.

Two other survivors were General Rattlor, one of King Hiss' most trusted commanders, and his comrade Tung Lashor. Knowing they would only be imprisoned by the Elders if they remained on Eternia, they fled to the world of Etheria. On Etheria, they made a vain attempt to seize power and establish a Snake regime. They attacked the tribes of the Northern Plains and tore apart their whole landscape, turning a beautiful area of grass and woodland into a barren, desolate landscape. But their presence soon caught the attention of Light Hope, who summoned a team of sorcerers descended from the First Ones to counter the evil of these two Snake Men. Rattlor and Tung Lashor were overpowered in no time, and committed suicide by drinking their own poison before they could be imprisoned. They were buried in a deep tomb beneath the now barren plain.

Much of Eternia lay in ruins after the war with the Snake Army. Several tribes and species had been wiped out completely, and many formerly affluent kingdoms had now been reduced to poverty. So the Elders immediately set about restoring peace and justice to Eternia. The greatest warriors of the battles were honored by the Elders for their services by being crowned as Kings and Queens across Eternia. Together they set about rebuilding the kingdoms that had been torn apart by the Snake Men.

Shortly after King Hiss' defeat, Eldor, hailed alongside He-Ro as one of the saviors of the war, vanished mysteriously. It was unclear where he went. He simply ventured out into the open to help restore order on Eternia, and never returned. He was last seen wandering the Fertile Plains, and attempts to trace him met with no success. His end, therefore, was as mysterious as his origins.

As warriors were crowned Kings and Queens all over Eternia, The Elders decided that the planet's overall ruler should rule from within Grayskull, so that he would have the power of the castle at his own command for the purposes of good. Following the death of He-Ro, the perfect ruler for the planet would be none other than Gray's younger brother, Therouanne. He had proved himself a strong and noble warrior during the war, and having trained from birth and enhanced his skills through fighting alongside his brother, he was now the most powerful and dignified of all the remaining warriors. So he was crowned King of Eternia, and as he was the first of Eternia's Kings to command the power of Grayskull, he took the name of King Grayskull.

King Grayskull ruled over the planet peacefully, alongside his wife, the sorceress Veena. Shortly after taking the throne, Veena gave birth to a son, Tamask, whom they trained as a warrior from childhood. But although it may have seemed as though Eternia was nearing another age of peace, this could not have been further from the truth.


	4. 4 Dawn of the Horde

**Chapter 4: Dawn of the Horde**

Ever since the war of Serpos, centuries before, the dimensional rifts brought about by The Nocturnals between Eternia and Infinita had continued brewing, until they eventually caught the attention of the great power source in the center of Infinita's galaxy, which Zodac had detected at the time but been unable to explore. This power source was located on the largest, central, and by far the most evil planet in the galaxy- a planet known as Prime. The planet Prime was even more dark, violent and sinister than Infinita, for it was filled with evil beings who worshipped the deity believed to be the greatest God of evil in the entire universe- the God Prime, after whom the planet was named. Prime was considered by many to be the essence of evil itself, and no-one on his world dared oppose him. He was the most terrifying of all the evil deities, for he had never been known to manifest in any kind of physical form- he seemed to be more of a colossal, all-encompassing entity, which could be watching anyone at any time, occasionally making his presence known with the appearance of thick, black clouds and beaming red eyes.

Determined to spread his evil across the universe, Prime had formed a huge army of evil warriors, which he named the Horde. For centuries, the Horde had been dispatched throughout the universe to conquer numerous worlds and bring the natives to their knees at the name of Prime. Prime had long been exploring the dimensional warps around Infinita, and transcending his consciousness through them. He finally became aware of the world of Eternia- and the great power that lay there. Realizing that absorbing the power of this planet would enable to him to conquer the universe, he immediately set about planning a Horde invasion of Eternia.

When his army was ready, they traveled to Infinita, from where they began to pass through the dimensional portals to Eternia, emerging on the Black Continent. The Eternians were unprepared for this sudden assault. Even though several decades had passed since the Snake War, the planet was still in its early stages of recovery, and all of a sudden, it seemed that the nightmare had started all over again.

Prime used his magic to build a fortress for the Horde on the further reaches of the Black Continent, which he named the Fright Zone. Day by day, the Horde attacked cities and kingdoms all across Eternia. They proved even deadlier than the Snake Army had been. Whereas the main force of the Snake Army had been magic, the Horde, like the Elders, used a combination of magic and science to enact their evil schemes. For the first time in history, Eternia was hit by terrifying machinations, and mechanized beings. And the deadliest element of Prime was that while King Hiss had been an exceptionally powerful being, Prime was nothing less than a God- and his lack of a physical form meant that many of his attacks on Eternia were unseen. And while the evil of the Snake Men had paralleled that of Serpos in that it was mostly feral and savage, Prime encompassed not only the primal side of evil but also the civilized, meaning that his approach towards conquest was calmer and more calculated than that of King Hiss. Before the Eternians were able to adjust to peace, all hope was immediately swiped from them as the force of the Horde engulfed the planet.

As soon as King Grayskull became aware of the danger, he wasted no time. Immediately, he gathered a team of the planet's strongest warriors, and led them into battle against the Horde. The Elders kept the Sword of Power under close guard in case it was decided that now was the time for He-Man┘ but King Grayskull was determined that he would be able to rid the planet of the Horde with his own powers.

While the Horde succeeded in conquering many kingdoms, they were taken aback by the strength of King Grayskull and the power from within the castle. While the ordinary Eternians lived in fear of Prime due to his constant unseen attacks, his power, no matter how strong, was still not strong enough to breach Castle Grayskull.

But the severity of Prime's attacks increased when he launched an attack on the Three Towers. Prime himself, being a God, was immune to the effects of the magic of balance within Central Tower. But he did gain a great portion of new power from the Towers. He moved onwards to Castle Grayskull, where he sent beams of immense magic down from the skies onto the castle, shaking the surrounding ground. The magic of Grayskull prevented deities of evil such as Prime from entering metaphysically, but as he repeatedly blasted the castle, the jaw bridge was at a severe risk of falling.

King Grayskull knew he must act quickly. From within the castle, he raised his sword and called to the stars above. Telepathically, he heard the voice of The Goddess, telling him that the power was within himself┘ but to mobilize it effectively, he must concentrate on unifying his soul.

King Grayskull was confused by The Goddess' cryptic advice, and was unsure what to do. But Veena felt she knew the answer- as in traditional Eternian symbolism, the husband and wife were seen as separate sides of a unified soul. The Goddess was demanding that Grayskull combine his battle force with that of his wife, in order to balance their full soul against Prime's evil. Together, King Grayskull and Veena ascended to the ramparts of the castle, where they joined their powers of masculine physical force, and feminine nurture and justice, against Prime's attack. Channeling their power through Grayskull's sword, they projected it towards Prime, and soon overpowered him, causing him to flee. King Grayskull then realized that in order to fend off evil most effectively, the universal balance must be further enforced by combining masculine strength and brutality with feminine nurture and harmony- the power of the great Goddess herself, the creator of all. The power of his own heroism, combined with that of Veena, was now present within his sword, making it almost as powerful as the as-yet-unused Sword of Power.

But although King Grayskull had successfully defeated Prime's latest attack, Prime's power had nevertheless been boosted immensely, and he could easily obtain more power and conquer the castle. King Grayskull took a trip into the highest reaches of the Mystic Mountains, where he sat among the peaks and sank into deep meditation.

In meditation, he felt the presence of the Cosmic Enforcer, Zodac. Zodac provided him with major information that would enable Grayskull to rid Eternia of Prime and the Horde for good. He explained that the Horde was an intergalactic empire, and they ruled many planets throughout the universe. Their unification of magic and science in their quest for universal domination had enabled them to become the strongest of all evil threats to peace in the entire universe. For by partially integrating elements of the universal system of balance into their tactics, they had achieved power over many worlds throughout the universe.

The key to stopping them, therefore, was to combine magic with science in one major force of good against their evil. While there were many great scientists on the side of good, the heroic forces did not yet possess technology as advanced as that of the Horde. Zodac told Grayskull that he must journey to the planet Primus, a technologically-advanced world light years away from Eternia, which had recently been conquered by the Horde. Primus' machinery was powered in part by magical Trithuseum Crystals, made from a natural magic mineral which could be used for both magical defense and the powering of machinery, thus epitomizing the unified power of magic with technology. By absorbing the power of the Trithuseum Crystals, Grayskull would be able to diminish the Horde's power greatly, and rid Eternia of their evil.

Grayskull took immediate action. He returned to the castle, and informed Veena and the Elders of what Zodac had told him. He ventured into the Corridor of Dimensions, hidden within Grayskull, which housed the thousands of space portals to other worlds and dimensions throughout the universe, and entered the portal that led to Primus, located in the Triax Star System.

When Grayskull emerged on Primus, he found it to be a world strongly driven by technology, ruled by evil scientists in Prime's service, who were intent on establishing a race of super-powerful mechanized beings to wipe out all traces of humanity on Primus. King Grayskull stepped to the aid of the Primands, and used the magic gained by his sword to reinforce the power of the good and the way of the magic on this world.

After using his power against the evil rulers, Grayskull was accepted as a hero by the planet's heroic Galactic Council. He explained to them that he came from the world of Eternia, and was on a quest to obtain some of the Trithuseum Crystals, to unify the forces of magic and science in order to banish the Horde from his world. By doing so, he said, he would also be able to save Primus.

Grayskull joined forces with the council, and used his tremendous strength, the power of his sword, and the Trithuseum Crystals, to overcome the evil rulers of Primus. Unprepared for a counter-attack of such great magical force, they were eventually overpowered, and all of them either perished or were taken prisoner. Grayskull then reopened the portal to Eternia, and returned to his homeworld, accompanied by the members of the Galactic Council.

It was not long before Prime attacked Castle Grayskull, determined to overcome the castle after his last failed attempt. This time, his forces were met by the great machinations of the Primands, which equaled their own in power. As the Galactic Council, together with King Grayskull's warriors, did battle with the Horde, King Grayskull took on their devilish leader. The Trithuseum Crystals, combined with the magic of the Elders, emanated a great magical field that weakened Prime. As King Grayskull channeled his magic through his sword towards Prime, he realized what he needed to overcome the warlord's evil once and for all. Grayskull feigned retreat into the castle, followed by Veena. Veena used her powers to fix a Trithuseum crystal into the center of Grayskull's sword, to epitomize the definitive balance between magic and science. Then the Galactic Council ascended to the castle's turrets, armed with their Trithuseum-powered weapons. As Prime veered towards the castle, believing his opponent was about to surrender, he was met by an almighty blast of power, combining magic with science, as Grayskull re-emerged onto the battlements. The power of Grayskull's sword, the Trithuseum Crystal fuelling the council's machinery, overpowered Prime, stunning him. While Prime was stunned, a mere floating field of energy, the Elders and Grayskull were able to channel the essence of goodness from within the castle, and banish Prime back to his homeworld. King Grayskull had used so much strength and energy through this effort that he collapsed immediately afterwards, and was taken to the Recovery Room.

The Elders tended to Grayskull, but he had been physically weakened and clearly did not have long to live. Like his brother before him, his victory over evil had cost him his life. As he lay in the recovery room, with Veena, the Elders and the Galactic Council aside him, he prophesized that if Primus ever found itself in danger once again from technological chaos, the Primands must reach back through time and bring the power of the good and the way of the magic to their world, to defend it from evil. His sword, meanwhile, now possessed incredible power and must be kept alongside the Sword of Power as the second of Castle Grayskull's sacred swords. Like the Sword of Power, it would be presented to a chosen defender when the forces of darkness rose to their highest peak┘ only this sword must be presented to a female defender, who would serve to balance the power of the forces of good. Feminine nurture, and the wisdom of the universal Mother, would fight alongside masculine strength and order to maintain the prosperity of good over evil, whilst protecting the honor of Grayskull. For its purposes, the sword would be named the Sword of Protection. Grayskull died peacefully, holding onto Veena's hands. His spirit flowed into both the Sword of Power and the Sword of Protection, so Eternia's future defenders would be imbued with his amazing power.

Eternia was free once again, and the people of both Eternia and Primus now hailed King Grayskull as their savior. A treaty of eternal alliance was declared between the Eternians and the Primands. The Galactic Council vowed to use the wisdom of the Eternian Elders to maintain the balance on their world. They returned to Primus to rebuild the planet after the damage caused by the Horde, and mobilize its technological resources for the purposes of good, with magic as their prime fuel of stability.

Eternia lay in a severe state of turmoil after its many years of war. The blows which the planet had been dealt by the Snake Army had only been intensified by the invasion of the Horde. The spirit of equality and communion had been weakened across the planet, and there were now many minor wars between various tribes throughout Eternia, while a greater number of criminals were also present. The Elders knew that it would take a long time, possibly centuries, to restore the planet to its former glory.

After debating how to go about restoring global peace to Eternia, the Elders decided that the planet should be ruled once again by regular monarchy, as in the days before the Snake Invasion. If Castle Grayskull played too active a role in the regular ruling of the planet, more evil forces would be sure to target Eternia. Also, a regular monarchy would be more easily accessible to the ordinary Eternians than the Elders were, within the depths of Castle Grayskull.

So once again, the greatest heroes of the war were instated as Kings and Queens across Eternia. Queen Veena passed the position of the planet's overall ruler down to Tamask, the son of King Grayskull and herself, now a great warrior and hero. Tamask and his men traveled to the Fertile Plains, where together they constructed a beautiful city that they named Eternos, which would serve as Eternia's ruling capital. King Tamask took the throne of the city's Royal Palace, and immediately set to work restoring peace to Eternia.

As King Tamask ruled over Eternia, the affairs of the Elders became more secretive, as they withdrew themselves from active participation in Eternia for the planet's safety. Veena remained Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, deciding that upon the mortal deaths of the Elders, the mantle of Sorceress should be passed down across the generations to protect the castle's secrets. The jaw bridge of the castle was raised for the last time in thousands of years, and Tamask was left to rule with the wisdom of the Elders.


	5. 5 Peace and Development

**Chapter 5: The Era of Peace and Development**

The reign of King Tamask was to mark the start of many centuries of peace on Eternia, throughout which civilization and technology developed and expanded significantly. Although he possessed much of his parents' nobility and wisdom, Tamask's rule was initially rather misguided. Having been raised as a warrior in a climate of extreme violence, he had been misled to believe that violence was the first necessary means to solve the planet's problems. Therefore, at first Tamask's rule was barbaric and violent, as his soldiers became caught up in numerous conflicts with other kingdoms across Eternia. But one night, Tamask returned to his palace claiming to have experienced an amazing encounter with a being from the future, who could possibly have been a descendant of his own. He explained that he had now realized violence was not a necessary measure, and was ready to change his ways, only fighting when he must. He set about restoring full peace, harmony and tranquility to the planet, to honor the discoveries of The Council of the Wise from centuries ago.

While life on Eternia was still rather rough for the remainder of Tamask's life, in the long term he more than succeeded in restoring peace to Eternia. There were difficult periods, such as the Dragon Wars which came shortly after Tamask's death. In the midst of the global poverty, a group of humans, with a hunger for riches, had invaded the Isles of Darksmoke, a series of remote islands off the Sea of Rakash which were home to a great and powerful race of dragons, who possessed supreme intelligence and lived amazingly long lifespans. The humans had no respect for the dragons, whom they saw as nothing more than savage beasts, no different from the evil forces which had threatened Eternia. Therefore, they proceeded to steal the Dragons' mineral resources, claiming that they rightfully belonged to humanity. The dragons' leader, Granamyr, oldest and wisest of the dragons of Darksmoke, was furious at the humans' treatment of his race. Darksmoke had always been largely secluded from the rest of Eternia, with its natives having had no involvement in the wars which had previously raged across the planet. Granamyr had always seen the wars as an example of human greed and corruption, and had therefore already looked down on humans for many centuries. But the invasion of his homeland by these particular humans angered him immensely, and he declared war between the dragons and the humans. The Dragon Wars lasted several hundred years, and throughout this time, the dragons proved much more powerful than the humans, maintaining a strong hold on their natural resources. Eventually, the dragons won the war, when the humans finally gave in to their immense power and were driven from the Isles altogether. Granamyr then passed laws banning all humans from setting foot on the Isles of Darksmoke, and humans would forever be bitter enemies of the dragons.

But over the centuries, subsequent rulers of Eternos City dedicated their lives to restoring the full system of justice and equality to the planet. Derelict kingdoms were rebuilt into beautiful cities, forests developed over desolate plains, tribes shattered by the wars of the Snake Army and the Horde were given the chance to repair their lifestyles and culture. Technology improved and advanced, following the skills the Eternians had gained from the Primands. Machinery began to develop, and each of the monarchs of Eternos was served by a Man-At-Arms who would build and maintain the technology and weaponry necessary to keep the planet safe. After several hundred years, the balance had been fully restored once more. Eternia lived in peace for thousands of years. Wars on the planet were minor and had little effect, and no further evil forces from other realms of the cosmos made any attempts on Eternia. The great heroic power of this planet was now well-known throughout the universe, to the extent that few of the universe's greatest evils would dare touch it. Castle Grayskull's jaw bridge remained closed for many centuries, and the existence of the castle was almost forgotten, to the extent that many people came to believe it was nothing more than a legend.

However, the planet's stability was not to be retained, and after the many centuries of peace, the tranquility of Eternia was finally shattered with the dawn of a period that came to be known as The Great Unrest.


	6. 6 The Great Unrest

**Chapter 6: The Great Unrest**

The onset of the Great Unrest began with the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of the planet's ruler, King Miro. The King vanished abruptly and without warning, and after several searches for him proved inconclusive, the people of Eternia were plunged into disarray and trauma at the disappearance of their beloved ruler. His disappearance led to a bitter rivalry between his two sons, Randor and Keldor, over which of them would rule in Miro's place.

Randor, the younger of the two sons, was a noble and peace-loving young man who had trained from birth as a warrior, and was now highly regarded among the people of Eternia as a brave and dignified soldier. Nothing mattered to him more than helping his people prosper. His older brother Keldor, however, had taken a completely different direction. Keldor was dissatisfied with the standards of life on Eternia, and felt the planet was lost in excessive formality and over-civilization. Since his youth, he had felt that the planet needed to reacquaint itself with the great power of its founders, retain touch with the higher meaning of reality and return to a more primitive, tribal way of life. Attracted to the works of controversial philosophers and sorcerers who dabbled in the darker side of magic, Keldor became lost in studies of taboo thinkers and practitioners, and quickly became misguided in his quest for enlightenment.

Keldor began himself to dabble in the black arts and dark magic, determined to achieve a true sense of power and superiority. Ever since he was a teenager, Keldor had always been seen by many people, including his own family, as a social outcast, with little interest in the affairs of Eternia. While the rest of the Royal Family tended to the kingdom and the people, Keldor would remain locked alone in his private rooms, absorbed in his studies and sorcery. His misguided pursuit of enlightenment led him to study the philosophies and practices of The Nocturnals and other sects of black sorcery. He studied the legends of Castle Grayskull, and believed that if the great power held by the Ancients could be rediscovered, he could use this power to rule over Eternia.

_"Grayskull was but a waste of great power.  
Whilst the Elders possessed all the power and secrets they needed to control the whole universe, they put this power to waste by concealing it in an impenetrable edifice with the apparent intention of preserving it to maintain their notions of universal harmony. Wasted the power has been, for to this day it is all but forgotten- yet Eternian society continues nevertheless to abide by the blind notion that tranquility exists by default amongst all humans, and thus conflicts go unacknowledged, while society is in a seemingly perpetual state of stagnant boredom. It is time for the 'superhumans' spoken of by The Nocturnals to re-emerge from their overlong oppression, rediscover the lost Castle Grayskull, and usurp its power to use it for the correct means- to establish true prosperity for society, and the dominance of the fittest and most intelligent humans over the blind elite."_

(Soreli Akhnatas, historian and philosopher)

But Keldor's pursuit of power led him to explore many taboo realms of magic, and he became lost in the black arts, his mind hell-bent on nothing more than great power.

And he did achieve great power- by the age of twenty-one, Keldor was already a mighty sorcerer, who would astound his family and the citizens of Eternia with his amazing magical feats. But others were heavily concerned about him, feeling his powers were dangerous, and that he was being corrupted by the black arts he had excelled in. Several years later, after the disappearance of Miro, Keldor proclaimed himself the ideal successor to his father. He attempted to seduce the Eternians into approving him as their King, by addressing them with his plans for improvement of society, and demonstrating how he would achieve this by displaying his incredible magic powers. But the people, and the rest of the Royal Family, saw his words as those of an angry and misguided outcast rather than a noble revolutionary. His philosophies of divisions of superiority between mankind completely conflicted with the system of balance and equality that the Eternians had thrived in for many centuries. A world ruled by Keldor would inevitably turn into a chaotic dictatorship.

The Eternians grew to fear Keldor, and called for Randor to become King. Keldor was furious that the Eternians were in favor of his brother rather than himself. Not only was Randor younger than him, but he was also, in Keldor's view, foolish and naive, another member of the 'blind elite'. Keldor came to the conclusion that all the people, like his brother, were simply inferior, feeble-minded fools, and decided that to ensure domination of the strongest breed, he must take the throne of Eternia by force. He ventured into the palace dungeons, and freed all the criminals within, inviting them to join him in the great revolution. Then he used his magic to summon a plethora of demons from the dark dimensions, and challenged Randor to fight him for the crown. Chaos ensued as the two brothers battled against one another for control of Eternia; Randor and the palace soldiers against Keldor and his band of criminals and magical demons.

Eternos City was plunged into war as the two brothers battled away, day by day. Keldor was clearly far more powerful than Randor, who had to summon the combined energies of some of Eternia's most respected magicians to keep his brother away from the throne. The combined skills of Eternos' finest sorcerer, Mesmerus, and one of the city's greatest scientists, Marlena, were Randor's prime aid in defending the city and the people from his warped brother. Keldor made continuous attempts on the city, and the whole of Eternos soon lived in fear of the power of its fallen Prince.

But the real nightmare had not yet begun. The instability within Eternia's monarchy soon led to further chaos, throughout not only Eternos, but the whole planet. A warlord named Prahvus, from an unknown dimension, chose this time of unrest to make an attempt on Eternia, his main goal being to uncover the power of the Ancients and rule the planet for himself. With a band of bloodthirsty accomplices, Prahvus and his forces soon ravaged many kingdoms, slaughtering thousands of innocent people. And Prahvus was not the only warlord who chose to take advantage of the uneasy governmental situation. His siege evoked a huge myriad of other warlords, from both Eternia and other dimensions, to do the same thing and begin their own conquests of Eternia. The whole planet was plunged into chaos as the Great Unrest took hold.

As various warlords made their own attempts on Eternos, Keldor now faced much more opposition than just his brother. Just as he had seemed to be on the cusp of winning, he now found himself in a situation where he would undoubtedly lose unless he took drastic action. After nearly all the criminals he had hired to do his deeds perished in an enormous battle between multiple forces, Keldor fled from the war to seek out a different route to the power he desired. He traveled to the Black Continent to go in search of the legendary Snake Mountain, to learn the secrets of the Snake Army. He had grown to highly respect King Hiss and his regime through his endless studies, and if he could learn some of King Hiss' secrets or absorb a portion of his power, he may obtain the force he needed to rule Eternia for himself┘ or even uncover Castle Grayskull.

But neither Keldor nor the warlords would be Eternia's greatest threat during the Great Unrest. For the real chaos began when the situation caught the attention of none other than the most feared god of all- Prime- many centuries after his defeat at the hands of King Grayskull.

Following his previous defeat on Eternia, Prime had nevertheless continued to expand his Horde, and had conquered thousands of planets throughout the universe over the many centuries. He now ruled over the most widespread evil empire in the universe. With the Horde now widely recognized as the universe's greatest intergalactic force of evil, Prime was now known as Horde Prime, and his homeworld had become known as Horde World. He had stayed away from Eternia since his defeat, knowing that the power of Grayskull could be strong enough to destroy him. But he had always intended to strike the planet once again when his own power had increased- and with his power now having greatly expanded, he decided that now, at this time of unrest, his chance had come to gain the power he desired most of all in the universe.

Deciding that his attack would be most effective if executed subtly, he chose to elect one of his finest warriors to lead the assault on Eternia, who would be mistaken for a regular warlord. He chose the warrior Xazrog, from the planet of Academica. Although Xazrog had initially been trained as a sorcerer, he later defected to the realms of science, and was now a highly intelligent and skilled scientist and inventor, and a specialist in nanotechnology, using the magic powers he learned earlier to fuel his scientific advances. Xazrog had served Prime since his youth and was one of his strongest and most loyal warriors. So he was the finest choice for leader of the Horde assault on Eternia.

Xazrog was beamed down to Eternia, with a huge fleet of warriors and Horde Troopers. Emerging on the Black Continent, Xazrog's initial plan was to locate Prime's old base, the Fright Zone, and resurrect it as the Horde base. But while traversing the Black Continent, he encountered none other than Keldor, who was seeking out Snake Mountain. Both Xazrog and Keldor immediately saw the other as a perfect opportunity to expand their force. Although Keldor generally despised practitioners of science, he knew he would need some kind of army alongside him to challenge his brother for Eternia's crown. So he offered his services to Xazrog as prime sorcerer, secretly plotting to overthrow Xazrog once the war was won, believing that the superiority of magic over science would ensure his eventual dominance over Xazrog. Xazrog, meanwhile, felt that a magician of Keldor's power would provide powerful assistance to his mostly technology-driven force, so he accepted Keldor's services. Keldor told Xazrog of the ancient legends of the Snake Men, and how they could benefit from learning their secrets. So together, they trekked across the Black Continent to locate Snake Mountain. Following his knowledge of the ancient battles, Keldor managed to roughly locate the spot where Snake Mountain had stood. Sensing a magical power deep within an ordinary-looking mountain nearby, Keldor realized that this must be the object of his search- the normal-looking mountain within which the Snake Army's old headquarters had been concealed for centuries. Keldor and Xazrog combined their powers of magic and technology to blow away the rock concealing Snake Mountain. For the first time in centuries, the ancient fortress of evil was exposed to full view. They entered the mountain, and took it as their own base, exploring it for secrets and treasures formerly held by the Snake Men, which would help them in their conquest.

Xazrog's conquest of Eternia could not have gone more smoothly. As planned, when he first attacked, the Eternians mistook him for another ordinary warlord, and saw him as nothing more than an average threat. But when Xazrog made an attack on Eternos, together with Keldor, they dealt such devastating blows to the city that Randor and his soldiers realized they were dealing with something far deadlier. Randor and his men had thought beforehand that Keldor had abandoned his hopes of ruling Eternia following the defeat of his army. But now he had resurfaced, having for some reason allied himself with this mysterious warlord, and together they possessed a swift combination of magic and science that easily countered the powers and resources of Randor's forces. And after the battle was over, with Xazrog's forces barely driven from the capital by Marlena's machinery and Mesmerus' magic, one of the city's leading historians came forth, having recognized the bat symbol on the Troopers' chests. It was the symbol worn thousands of centuries ago by the forces of the Horde, who had almost conquered Eternia. This was Eternia's biggest threat in centuries. The Horde had returned, and Xazrog was leading them in the name of the dreaded god Prime.


	7. 7 The Rediscovery of Castle Grayskull

**Chapter 7: The Rediscovery of Castle Grayskull**

Following the realization of the Horde's return, the leaders of Eternos took serious action to mobilize their defense forces. Randor was quickly instated as King, and one of his leading battle comrades, Duncan, a skilled warrior and inventor, was promoted to the position of Man-At-Arms and given the command of the Royal forces. Together they defended the city from numerous attacks, from the Horde and other warlords. Xazrog and the Horde were undoubtedly the strongest of all the evil forces, and much of Eternos City was destroyed in the battles. It was clear that Xazrog's forces would take over Eternia in no time, at this rate, as Randor's forces began to weaken and diminish in number.

As Xazrog conquered more and more kingdoms across Eternia, the regular warlords on the planet began to weaken, their forces nowhere near as strong as the Horde. A major turning point in the Great Unrest occurred when a strange young scientist named Galen Nycroft, who had trained at the City of Lights under his mentor Sortech, bribed the warlord Prahvus into stealing a powerful device called the Ergon. The City of Lights was the epicenter of Eternia's technology, a great city of machinic complexes and advanced industry in which many of Eternia's technological advances were instigated. Sortech was the city's leader and its most skilled scientist, and the Ergon was his greatest invention- a special device that could provide Eternia with unlimited technological power. Nycroft, who had a brilliant mind but was also overly ambitious and excitable, felt mistreated by Sortech, who considered his inventions and desires to be born of insanity rather than genius. To overcome his master and lead the City of Lights himself, Nycroft seduced Prahvus into stealing the Ergon from Sortech, promising to aid him as master scientist if he helped him kill Sortech. By this point, with the strength of the Horde rapidly increasing, Prahvus had formed an alliance with various other warlords to complete his conquest. Together with his allies, Prahvus was beamed by Nycroft to the City of Lights, where he seized the Ergon, overpowered Sortech, and with Nycroft's help created deadly machinery with incredible power, which he set upon the Eternians. But this newfound boost to the warlords' strength did not last long, for the events at the City of Lights caught the attention of Xazrog, who stormed upon the city with his Horde. Xazrog now had a whole host of robotic Troopers at his command, along with numerous powerful machines and vehicles, exceeding that within the City of Lights. Technological chaos ensued with Xazrog's attack, until the City of Lights was engulfed by a massive explosion, destroying most of its buildings and machinery, as well as many of the warlords themselves. The Ergon was lost in the explosion, and Nycroft fled the city.

With most of the warlords now defeated, things were made much easier for Xazrog and the Horde, as now they had only Randor's forces to worry about. And while Randor's forces were strong and possessed much magic and technology of their own, they could not maintain their strength against the Horde for long and would undoubtedly be defeated soon. Keldor struck a deal with Xazrog that he would rule from the throne of Eternos while Xazrog sought out Castle Grayskull, which would be all Xazrog's once it was found. But while he feigned disinterest in Grayskull, Keldor knew that once the great castle was uncovered, he would rise above Xazrog and take it for himself. Xazrog continued to conquer numerous kingdoms across the planet, and it looked as though Eternia was about to collapse under the rule of evil for the first time in centuries.

Randor kept calm on the exterior, but inside, was fraught with concern over the planet's future. Amidst all the chaos he was already causing, Xazrog was sure to bring the dreaded Prime himself into the battle before long- what kind of destruction could result at the intervention of the God? Recalling the legends of the Ancients, Randor knew there was only one hope for Eternia- Castle Grayskull. But Grayskull had long since vanished into the realms of legend, and no-one knew of its whereabouts- for all they knew, it may no longer be standing.

But as the battle raged across Eternia, a courageous young peasant girl, from a small village in one of Xazrog's kingdoms, took it upon herself to find the ancient fortress of mystery and power. Her name was Teelina. Shortly before the Great Unrest began, Teelina had married a great soldier, who had left home to fight in the war. Since he had left, she had given birth to a daughter, whom she named Teela, but had been unable to tell her husband the good news while he was away fighting. Teelina was subject to daily torture at the hands of the Horde, to the point where she would endure it no longer, and decided that she must take action herself to put a stop to this mayhem. She recalled the ancient legends of the great battles of the Elders of Eternia and the power of Grayskull, which had defeated the Horde when they had last invaded Eternia, thousands of centuries ago. She knew that Castle Grayskull could be Eternia's only hope. So she bade farewell to the people of her village, and set out, with Teela, into the great wide open, to find the fortress with the power to save Eternia.

Teelina's journey was long and difficult, for no-one knew the whereabouts of Grayskull, it was not marked on any map, and many people believed it was nothing more than a legend. She had to stop from time to time in towns and cities, and beg for money on the streets. She had to sleep rough night after night, except on the occasional fortuitous evening on which a hotel owner would allow her to sleep for free in his lodgings. All that kept her alive throughout this time was her anger at what Xazrog's forces were doing to her world, along with her determination to save her daughter, her husband, and her planet.

After weeks of traveling without finding Castle Grayskull, she began to wonder if she would ever locate the castle- but she could not simply give in. She kept on traveling, until one day- when she met a strange old man. She came across this man purely by accident, when traveling across a long, rocky path. The elderly man, dressed in brown robes and carrying a wooden stick, stopped her and asked where she was heading. She told him her destination, and the reasons for her determination to find Grayskull. And barely had she spoken- when the man told her the exact directions to Grayskull, and wished her luck, before going his separate way. Even to this day, Teelina does not know who the man was- but she could not be more thankful to him, as when she followed his directions, she found herself staring up at the wondrous, striking and colossal structure of Castle Grayskull.

Now she was faced with the problem of entering the castle. Was it even possible, with the Jaw Bridge raised so high, and the path blocked by the huge and deep abyss? Her journey would be even more tragic if she were to find she had traveled all this way only to find there was no entry into the castle. But she did not worry for long- as all of a sudden, a gentle and friendly female voice emitted from somewhere within the castle. It assured her that her journey had not been in vain, and welcomed her inside. Then, for the first time in centuries, the Jaw Bridge lowered, opening the way inside. The voice then warned Teelina that if she were to enter Castle Grayskull, she may never be the same again. At first she hesitated, but then she realized she did not want to be the same again- she wanted to be free from poverty and war. Carrying Teela in her arms, she walked over the Jaw Bridge and inside the great castle. She entered the throne room of the castle, where she saw a middle-aged woman sitting atop the throne, dressed in a falcon headdress, with wings attached to her back. The woman told her that her name was Kodak Ungor, and she was a descendant of the Elders of Eternia, the mantle of Sorceress of Grayskull having been passed down her family for generations. She explained that she was aware of the chaos spreading throughout Eternia, and was ready to take action. But she had been the guardian of the castle for many years, and her duty as Sorceress had almost expired. It was time for her to find a successor to bring the power of Grayskull into the war against the Horde. She felt that the ideal person to succeed her as Sorceress was none other than Teelina herself.

Teelina had proven her bravery, strength and dedication to goodness through the enormous effort she had undertaken for the sake of finding the castle to save her world. She was a true heroine. Kodak Ungor offered her the position of Sorceress of Grayskull- but warned her that if she were to take the role, she would be consigned to remaining in solitude in the castle to permanently guard its secrets and powers, and would thus be alienated from mortal life. Teelina accepted the offer nevertheless- she would stop at no lengths to save Eternia.

So Kodak Ungor took Teela from her and laid her by the steps of the throne- then she called upon the Elders of Eternia. Their spirits appeared, surrounding Teelina, in the center of the throne room. Keclar and his accomplices combined their magic powers, and forced them upon Teelina. Her mind was filled with all the sacred knowledge of Grayskul- and when the Elders had finished, Teelina emerged from the circle in the form of a falcon. This was Zoar, the falcon of force, the form which Teelina would use to scout Eternia.  
She spread out her wings, and transformed back to Teelina- and then Kodak Ungor cast a spell, and the falcon costume vanished from her body and onto Teelina's. Teelina had never felt so strong before. Kodak told her that she was now the most powerful being on all Eternia, and her magic would enable her to remain eternally young- she could appear as old or as young as she wanted to. Immediately after becoming Sorceress, Teelina prepared to mobilize the power of Grayskull to aid Randor and his soldiers in their battles against the Horde. She traveled to Eternos City, where she revealed herself to King Randor, and declared her alliance to himself and his forces. Together, Randor and The Sorceress used their combined powers against Xazrog's forces in battle, and achieved a strong victory, taking many of the evil soldiers prisoner. The power of Grayskull had provided an enormous boost to the forces of good, and they were now almost evenly matched against the Horde.

However, shortly afterwards, The Sorceress received the news that her husband had been killed in the war, at the hands of Xazrog's forces. This saddened her greatly, for not only would she never be reunited with her husband, but he had died without ever having known of the birth of their daughter. The Sorceress knew she could not look after Teela on her own when she had the responsibility of guarding Grayskull, so she gave Teela to Duncan, the royal Man-At-Arms, to raise as his own daughter. She had heard of Duncan long before her husband had left her to fight in the war, as her husband himself had trained alongside him, and brought back tales of Duncan's nobility and goodness. Whilst fighting alongside Duncan herself, she had quickly developed a strong bond of friendship with him, and grown to respect him as highly as her husband had. He was the ideal man to raise her daughter.

The Horde had suffered a massive setback with the intervention of The Sorceress in the war, and Randor's forces were finally given a breathing space. Randor took this opportunity to marry his great scientist and warrior, Marlena. In the midst of the battles, the two had fallen in love, and Marlena was now pregnant. This brief period of relative calm was the perfect time for them to marry, so they could fulfill their bond before the Horde had the chance to defeat them.

But unbeknownst to the forces of good, an even greater evil was already brewing on Eternia. It was during this brief period of calm that this evil came into full force. And this great evil concerned none other than Teelina's husband... who was not dead at all. In fact, something far more sinister had happened to him.


	8. 8 The Greatest Evil On Eternia

**Chapter 8: The Greatest Evil of Eternia**

During the time of Teelina's marriage, there were many things she had not known about her husband. To explain the reasons for what he became, we must delve back twenty-five years before the Great Unrest began. Teelina's husband was a man named Zendar; a descendant of Zendar the Unholy, leader of the Nocturnals. For centuries, ever since their temple had been built on the Desert of Desolation, the descendants of Zendar the Unholy had been concentrating on absorbing all the dark matter around them and within the universe, concentrating it into their bloodstream as they bred down the centuries. The very essence of darkness had passed down through the generations within their bloodstream┘ until it finally culminated in the ultimate being of destruction whom the Nocturnals had envisioned all those centuries ago. The birth of Zendar immediately wracked the Temple with an explosion, killing many of the disciples within. After all these centuries, the Lord of Destruction had arrived.

The power was so strong that even Zendar's own parents' energy had been severely weakened. His mother died in a fit of ecstasy shortly afterwards, relieved at her triumph. His father aged rapidly, and despite being in his mid-thirties, his body degenerated to the extent that he gained the appearance of a man in his nineties. But he was satisfied nevertheless, for he had achieved the aim of his ancestors; the creation of the ultimate being of destruction who would bring about the downfall of the entire universe.

He brought up the newborn Zendar in a cryptic manner. He allowed Zendar to live independently, despite his young age, giving him only cryptic guidelines to influence his path through life. But Zendar was already imbued with immense intelligence and power, and learned quicker than a normal child. Zendar's father died when Zendar was only five, and his last words to the young Zendar were, "Destruction is your essence... set out to achieve it- Lord of Destruction."

Zendar was left to fend for himself in the world. But in spite of his age and size... he somehow managed it. As he reached adulthood, he knew that he possessed tremendous power. He delved deep into studies of ancient Eternia, of the cult of the Nocturnals which had brought about his existence, the philosophy of his ancestors, and their wars against the Council of the Wise, from which was born the power of Grayskull. He realized that he had been born to usurp the power of Grayskull himself.

He practiced the arts of dark magic, and quickly excelled in this skill, having been naturally imbued from birth with incredible magical powers. But he kept this ability entirely withheld from those around him. He felt he must carry out his goal of destruction in silence. So he posed as an ordinary Eternian, trained as a warrior in the King's court, and seduced numerous people into respecting him, before leaving immense destruction in his path. He trained alongside Man-At-Arms, and deceived the noble young soldier into believing that he was an honest and dignified warrior. It was shortly after his recruitment into the ranks of Randor's guardsmen that Zendar met Teelina, as his travels led him through her village.

He was somehow drawn towards Teelina by a natural, unspecified force. He seduced the young, honorable girl into falling in love with him, using his immense skill and ability to perpetuate an entirely false act which deceived the people of her village into regarding him as a noble warrior. When the Great Unrest struck, Zendar left home to fight in the war, and was soon in combat with many of Xazrog's forces.

Zendar used the war to further solidify his act. He made his way closer to immense destruction by killing his fellow soldiers as they slept within their camp. When the morning rose and the bodies were found, he would claim that Xazrog's forces had attacked them overnight, and he had fended them off, the only soldier to remain alive. People would believe his tales, and he was praised as a hero for his attempts to defend the deceased soldiers, when in fact he was himself the killer.

Then, one day he heard that Randor's forces had been joined by The Sorceress of Grayskull, bringing the power of the Elders into the battle. But as he bore witness to the conflict between The Sorceress and the Horde, he was horrified when he realized that The Sorceress of Grayskull was none other than his own wife. Enquiring among the other soldiers as to The Sorceress' origins, he learned the story of Teelina's ascension to the throne of Grayskull. Now he realized why he had been drawn towards her... but he was furious that the power he most desired had, within his absence from the village, been bestowed on his own wife, a mere woman.

While The Sorceress was engaged in a battle with the Horde alongside Randor's soldiers, Zendar took the opportunity to travel to Grayskull. His plan was to surprise Teelina with his presence upon her return, and convince her to grant him the position of Grayskull's defender. Then he would spring an attack on her, reveal his own powers and absorb her magic for himself. But as he ventured towards Grayskull, the eyes of the castle began to glow, and a fiery energy began to rage from within its walls, sensing he was an enemy, and ready to oppose him. Zendar realized that he could not enter Grayskull without exposing his secret, and he would be no match on his own for Grayskull's power. He would have to resort to alternative measures to challenge his wife for Grayskull's throne. The time had finally come for him to defect from Randor's forces, and pledge his services instead to the Horde.

As the period of calm spread over Eternos, Zendar journeyed to the Black Continent. His studies of Ancient Eternia enabled him to find the exact location of Snake Mountain, where he pledged his services to Xazrog as a warrior. Accepted into the ranks of Xazrog's forces as a regular soldier, Zendar proceeded to shock his new companions with the revelation of his magic powers. Keldor was particularly impressed by the great power possessed by this man who seemed a mere mortal, and Zendar convinced Keldor to employ him as his apprentice and train him further in the art of dark magic.

Zendar did not tell Keldor his true origins. He simply pretended he was an ordinary man who had studied the art of dark magic in secret. Keldor identified closely with the young sorcerer, as it seemed they shared many similar ideas and philosophies. The two of them began to spend many hours alone in the depths of Snake Mountain, practising their magic together.

But Zendar's true desire was to destroy Keldor, so that he may replace him as Xazrog's prime sorcerer. Keldor's incredible power could all too easily be a threat to Zendar's own, so by feigning loyalty and respect towards Keldor, Zendar plotted to bring about Keldor's demise so that he may be the prime force of magic in the war against The Sorceress.

He seized his chance on one dark night, as Keldor trained him in his chamber. Keldor had set up a stone structure against the wall, on which Zendar was practicing his directional aim, firing beams of magic at it. Zendar repeatedly shot bolts at the structure, blasting holes in it each time. But then, he suddenly turned away from the structure┘ and fired a surge of power at Keldor himself.

Keldor stumbled back in shock. "What did you do that for?" he asked.

"Your time is finished, Keldor." Zendar replied. "You may be a great sorcerer, but I desire to be greater. Yet you will never train me to become more powerful than you. As long as you are here, you will remain an obstacle in my way. So now I am powerful enough, I must destroy you before you can beat me to the throne of Grayskull."

"So, you are a traitor!" exclaimed Keldor. "Well, you are also a fool if you think you can destroy me. You are right that I would never train you to be as powerful as myself- for I am far more powerful, and so it shall be I who destroys you!" With that, he shot a long stream of bright red and green light from his hands. Zendar was engulfed in the glow, and was struck still, almost unable to move.

"Try to combat that!" shrieked Keldor. Zendar managed to reach out his arm and fire a bolt of magical energy, but it was quickly dissolved by Keldor's power. Zendar realized he had struck too quickly. He was not yet as powerful as Keldor, who was now able to destroy him with ease. He should have bided his time before striking at Keldor. Keldor whooshed his arms through the air, and the glow around Zendar vanished.

"Have you learned your lesson now, Zendar?" he said. "There is no hope for you to successfully challenge my own great powers. If you accept that, then we may continue training as normal. If you continue to believe otherwise... then prepare to meet your doom"

But Zendar was not giving in. "You fool!" he shouted. "You will only attempt to destroy me anyway, now you know of my true desires. So the time for our final battle is... right now!" He threw out his right arm, and a beam of bright green light went flying at Keldor through the air. He was so quick that the beam hit Keldor in the chest... and it began to spread. It was about to engulf his whole body... and it would undoubtedly cause horrific damage. "There is no hope for you now, Keldor!" laughed Zendar. "The least harmful thing that beam will do will be to deform your entire body!"

"Once again, you underestimate my power, fool!" said Keldor- and he encased his hands round his chest. The beam dissolved, into thin air. Zendar tried firing again, but this time Keldor held out his hand, and absorbed the beam- then combined it with his own powers. His hand was soon aflame with crackling magical energy. When the energy reached extremes, Keldor released it from his body, and it went flying through the air, hitting Zendar with a huge explosion, coursing through his entire body!

Zendar screamed in agony as his body convulsed with dark magic. When the explosion died down, Zendar stood upright for several seconds, feeling unharmed. Then, all of a sudden, his body began to shake. He felt it filling with pain, and jerked back. He looked down at his hands, and noticed that they were losing color as the flesh faded... "Wh... what is h-happening to m-me...?" he stammered. Then he gave a cry of pain, and spread out his whole body, writhing in agony. The pigmentation faded from his skin, leaving only a strange and cold shade of blue, then the skin over his face seemed to tear. There was a fierce ripping sound, and bit by bit, his facial skin began to flake away. It shriveled and dried, before tearing off violently; his hair sprouted from his scalp and fell to the ground in clumps. His ears and nose ripped off from his skull, then his eyes began to change color, glowing bright red as they sank into their sockets... the last strands of flesh fell from his skull, exposing his whole cranium, white and gruesome, his red eyes shining out brightly from the black eye sockets.

Keldor gazed in horror at the hideously transformed Zendar. His whole appearance had been distorted beyond recognition. He was now the most hideous apparition of a man that Keldor had ever seen.

Zendar gazed into the magic pool, at the hideous reflection of his gruesomely altered self. For a second, he flinched back in terror... before he realized the potential that his new face had of striking terror into the heart of anyone who saw it. He looked up at the shocked form of Keldor, and laughed

.  
"So, Keldor, you great sorcerer. You try to destroy me and end up making me a hundred times more terrifying than your feeble self. And I feel so much stronger! So much more powerful! And you... you no longer deserve to spend another moment on this planet!" He shot bolts of power from his red eyes, striking Keldor and forcing him back against the rocky wall.

Keldor screamed in terror. "No, Zendar, set me free!" Zendar just laughed maniacally, then he charged forth at Keldor, and released a burst of magic power with one whoosh of his hands. The whole room was filled with magical energy, and Zendar shielded his eyes... then he heard Keldor's scream, and when the power died down, he saw Keldor's form fading from sight altogether.

Once Keldor was gone, Zendar looked into the pool of magic, and swirled his long, bony fingers through the water. The image in the pool changed, and he saw Keldor drifting through space and time to another dimension... a timeless dimension, with barely a soul to be seen. And there Keldor would remain, stranded in time, his memory erased entirely.

Zendar turned from the pool. Now to reveal his changed self to Xazrog. Xazrog's forces would be even more feared with a being of this appearance on their side! He climbed up to Xazrog's chamber, forced the door open, and stepped into the dark chamber. "Who dares enter my chamber?" called Xazrog.

"It is I..."

"You, Zendar? What have you to say..."

"Zendar no longer exists... I... am... SKELETOR!" He thrust his hideous face through the darkness and into Xazrog's.

Xazrog jumped to his feet in shock. "Zendar... this is you? What has changed you this way?"

"The magic of Keldor... but Keldor is no longer with us." Skeletor explained the whole incident to Xazrog. Then Xazrog erupted into maniacal laughter at the harrowing story, and said "Together, 'Skeletor', we will destroy the King's forces, and rule this planet! Now King Randor has no chance... and we will not only rule Eternia, but the whole universe! With the secrets of Grayskull in our hands- we shall become the Masters of the Universe!" And Xazrog issued the false news that Zendar was dead... and to explain Keldor's disappearance, he told Eternia that Keldor's magical practices had rendered him lost in dimensions beyond time. Then, with the mysterious Skeletor on his side, Xazrog increased the terror on Eternia by the millions. Many innocent people fell victim to his forces... and Eternia became a planet consumed by massacre. The brief period of calm had been shattered more severely than anyone would have dared imagine, with the sudden appearance of the terrifying and mysterious Skeletor.


	9. 9: End of the Unrest

**Chapter 9: The End of the Unrest and the Invasion of Etheria**

Although no-one knew who Skeletor was or where he had come from, he proved to be the most deadly addition to Xazrog's forces yet. The attacks on Grayskull became frequent, and increased in severity each time. The Sorceress began to wonder if the time had finally come to select the mortal who would receive the Sword of Power and become He-Man, the long-prophesized defender of Eternia. But as Randor's forces increased in size, and the magic of Grayskull expanded with The Sorceress' powers, the forces of good proved strong enough to effectively combat the Horde's evil, and Randor's soldiers, under the leadership of Man-At-Arms, managed to free more and more kingdoms from the Horde rule. Eventually, Xazrog decided that drastic action must be taken, so he summoned his master, the god Horde Prime, to intervene in the war and finish off the Eternians.

Horde Prime launched a huge attack against Eternia, harnessing the forces of darkness to inflict a meteor shower on the whole planet. Millions of people were killed and cities destroyed as the meteors impacted upon Eternia. But Grayskull stood firmly intact, as if untouched, and as Mesmerus used his magic to form a protective shield around Eternos City (using up so much energy that he died immediately after the battle), Randor and Man-At-Arms led the Royal army to Grayskull, to battle the Horde's invasion. During the battle, Skeletor attempted to betray Xazrog by using his magic to divert the path of the meteors, so that they headed towards Xazrog himself. Xazrog was pounded by the meteors as Skeletor led the Horde into the fight. The final battle was tremendous and planet-shattering, but in the end, the power of Grayskull, under control of The Sorceress, succeeded in banishing Prime from Eternia once again, as Xazrog's forces were scattered like flies.

Once Prime was banished, and the meteor shower was over, Xazrog and Skeletor were left severely injured- particularly Xazrog, who had suffered immense injuries in his limbs following the meteor shower. His face had also been disfigured beyond recognition, now a hideous, fleshy mess. Xazrog and Skeletor were taken to the royal dungeons as Randor's soldiers cleared up the debris from the war, and tended to the injured.

Xazrog was furious with Skeletor for having betrayed him, and deformed his body in the process. But within the cells of the Royal Palace, they realized they must continue to work together for the time being, to make their escape. The palace dungeons were not strong enough to hold the combined power of these great warlords, and they had no difficulty in escaping. Together, they concocted an evil plan for revenge against King Randor, before they made their escape from Eternia. Several months ago, Queen Marlena had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, whom she had named Adam and Adora. Xazrog and Skeletor decided that they would steal both the Queen's babies in revenge, and raise them to follow their own ways of darkness.

So they broke into the infantry, and Xazrog lifted Adora from her cradle. Skeletor was just about to take Adam, when Man-At-Arms entered the room, having overheard them breaking in. He knocked Skeletor back before he could lift Adam, then Queen Marlena rushed in and threw a punch at Xazrog. But Xazrog quickly escaped through the window, and fled. Man-At-Arms, pinning Skeletor to the ground, forced Skeletor to tell him the way to Hordak's base. Non-hesitantly, Skeletor consented- he hoped that the King's soldiers would catch Xazrog, so that he would have the opportunity to rise above him. The guards rushed through and escorted Skeletor back to the dungeon, while Man-At-Arms, Randor and Marlena summoned The Sorceress to their aid and fled after Xazrog.

Eventually, they reached Snake Mountain following Skeletor's directions, but they were too late- Xazrog escaped into a time portal with Adora before they could catch him. The saviors of the war returned to Eternos with a great sadness undermining their victory- they had saved their planet, but had lost their newborn Princess. Skeletor, in the meantime, had escaped- he had killed the guards before they could re-imprison him, then teleported away. No-one knew where he had gone, but he seemed to have vanished altogether.

The Sorceress returned to Grayskull to guard the castle in solitude. Man-At-Arms raised Teela as his own daughter, and trained her as a warrior. She was brought up alongside Randor's son, Adam, and the two of them became like brother and sister. But Randor was stricken with grief and frustration, at having lost three of his relatives to mysterious circumstances during the Great Unrest- first his father Miro, then his brother Keldor, then his daughter Adora. Although he ruled Eternia with great dignity, he spent many moments alone in quiet despair over what he had suffered, determined to some day find the whereabouts of his missing relations.

Xazrog, meanwhile, escaped back to the intergalactic lair of his master, Horde Prime. Although Prime was furious that he was still no match for the power of Grayskull even after all these centuries, he was impressed with Xazrog's achievements during the war. Not only had Xazrog emerged from the war alive, but he had succeeded in kidnapping the King's daughter. It was time to send Xazrog to conquer a new world- but first, his injuries and disfigured appearance must be repaired.

Prime ordered his scientists to operate on both Xazrog and Adora, and simultaneously the two of them were taken to separate operating rooms aboard Prime's ship, the Velvet Glove. Prime's scientists repaired Xazrog's damaged limbs with cybernetic attachments. Xazrog's arms could now both be converted into cannons via the fuel of his inner magic. He could also use this combination of magic and cybernetics to convert himself into the form of a rocket. His disfigured face, meanwhile, was rebuilt via metal attachments, the fleshy mess replaced with a white metal facial structure, with sharp teeth and blazing electronic red eyes. Xazrog awoke from the experiment as the ultimate Horde warrior- Hordak.

Once he emerged from the operating chamber, Hordak was presented with Adora, whom Prime's scientists had also operated on, injecting fluids into her head which had solidified into metal cybernetic implants which would imbue her with a thirst for blood and destruction. Hordak would raise her as a warrior, and she would inevitably become the ultimate killing machine once she had reached adulthood.

Now Hordak was ready for his next conquest. Prime assigned Hordak to conquer the world of Etheria. As Eternia's sister planet, Prime felt Etheria had remained peaceful for far too long. It was still a highly primitive world, with little technology, thriving mostly on agriculture. War and destruction were almost alien concepts to the people of Etheria- yet Prime was convinced that the planet possessed some portion of the Eternian Elders' power, and a conquest of this world would surely bring the Horde one step closer to their ultimate goal of Eternia. Etheria was the perfect world for the Horde to conquer next.

Hordak was beamed down to Etheria, with Adora, and a fleet of Horde Troopers. He took residence on the barren Northern Plains of Etheria, the once fertile area torn apart by General Rattlor and Tung Lashor after their brief invasion of Etheria centuries ago. Hordak renamed this area the Fright Zone, after Prime's old base on Eternia, and programmed his robotic Troopers to construct a mighty fortress for him in the center of the barren land. There they constructed the immense industrial complex named Doom Tower- a base of supreme technology, from which Hordak began to conduct his invasions of Etheria.

Hordak's invasions were swift and easy. The Etherians were inexperienced with war and technology, and so the sudden Horde invasions came as a great shock to them. They had neither the strength nor the resources to adequately counter the Horde, and one by one, the kingdoms on Etheria fell to the Horde, almost daily. Hordak's forces greatly expanded as he sought out the members of Etheria's more dangerous species, and recruited a gang of thugs to serve as his brute force. But Hordak's most powerful acquaintance was a young and beautiful sorceress named Light Spinner, who was led astray by the temptation of Hordak's powers of darkness, and by absorbing the dark forces, changed into Shadow Weaver, mistress of dark magic. She became Hordak's second-in-command, and assisted him in his conquest of Etheria.

There was only one kingdom on Etheria that proved resistant to the Horde's attacks- the kingdom of Bright Moon, ruled by Queen Celestia, an extraterrestrial sorceress with amazing power. She was the most powerful of the heroic sorceresses on Etheria, and her kingdom was home to the planet's only heroic scientists and its greatest warriors. Celestia continued to successfully fend off the Horde invasions, until one fateful day when she fell victim to the combined forces of Hordak and Shadow Weaver, and collapsed dead. Her daughter, Princess Angella, a starchild who had inherited her mother's mystic powers, immediately mobilized her warriors and set out to avenge her mother's death. She became Queen in her place, and married her strongest warrior, Micah. But although they proved strongly resistant to the Horde's attacks, they were nowhere near powerful enough to overthrow them, and both Queen Angella and King Micah were soon captured by the Horde.

Angella was held captive for ten years by Hunga the Harpy, an ally of the Horde. She was saved eventually by her teenage daughter, Princess Glimmer, who teamed up with a great scientist, Carlos, to free Angella. Upon Angella's return, Bright Moon was freed from the Horde once more, but Hordak retained a strong grip on the planet, and mass poverty and slavery consumed Etheria. To free their planet from this evil dictatorship, Glimmer and Carlos set about establishing the Great Rebellion, mobilizing the peasants of Etheria to rise up against the Horde in an effort to overthrow them.


	10. 10 The Birth of HeMan

**Chapter 10: The Birth of He-Man**

Back on Eternia, life had been peaceful since the defeat of the Horde. King Randor and Queen Marlena ruled over the planet with great peace, and Eternia returned to its state of bliss and tranquility from before the war, with Randor and Marlena rarely ever having to resume their old warrior roles. Their son, Prince Adam, had grown up alongside Man-At-Arms' adopted daughter, Teela. Adam was highly intelligent, with a yearning for adventure and excitement, but was also often overly exuberant and loved to play practical jokes on people, which caused King Randor to worry about him and fear that his seemed lack of responsibility was inadequate for the heir to the throne. Teela, meanwhile, although unaware of her true heritage, became extremely dedicated to her warrior training. By her teens, she had achieved an amazing level of athleticism and agility, as well as becoming highly intelligent and headstrong. She amazed many people with her astounding battle skills, and was so skilled that she was presented with the rank of Captain of the Guards at the age of only eighteen, the first ever woman to hold the role. Although she and Adam had grown up like brother and sister, and had a strong bond with one another, Teela often grew frustrated with Adam's apparent laziness and fooling around, and they developed a kind of love-hate relationship as they reached adulthood.

But although Eternia was in peace for the time being, elsewhere in the universe, the great Skeletor was working towards his long-term goal- the ultimate assault on Eternia and Castle Grayskull. When he had teleported himself away from Randor's dungeons after the Horde's defeat, he had fled to the world of Infinita, the dark world established centuries ago by the cult of the Nocturnals. As the Nocturnals had brought about his own existence, it made sense for him to retreat to the planet colonized by his ancestors to develop his powers. Infinita was almost exactly what Skeletor hoped Eternia would become under his rule. He spent eighteen years on Infinita, exploring his potential and developing his powers, to fully merit the title of Lord of Destruction.

Although he had once been a handsome young man, Skeletor felt far more himself in this demonic form, which had resulted from his duel with Keldor. It was as if this had been his true self all along, and Keldor's magic had actually unleashed his inner soul, rather than merely disfiguring his body. Wherever he went, even in a world as festering with evil creatures as Infinita, he seemed to strike terror into all who saw him. It seemed as if he were the embodiment of pure evil.

Eventually, the whole of Infinita came to live in fear of Skeletor, and he ruled over many sectors of this world. He was commended by the planet's demonic emperor, Dagon, as one of the greatest and most powerful beings ever to walk upon Infinita. Infinita felt like a true home to Skeletor- it had, after all, been partially established by his own ancestors. But he knew he could not remain on this world- for his true goal was Castle Grayskull, and his black heart was firmly set on challenging The Sorceress for the power of the universe. After these eighteen years, his power had expanded to such extremes that he had become one of the most feared beings in the cosmos, possessing incredible power that far exceeded that of his former mentor, Xazrog. The time had finally come for him to return to Eternia and usurp the power that he felt rightfully belonged to him.

The Sorceress was warned of Skeletor's return by a terrifying nightmare. In her dream, she saw red eyes shining through extreme blackness, and the faces of gruesome snakes and demons zooming towards her vision, hissing and spitting blood. A huge green snake then came writhing towards her, with glowing red eyes, emitting a terrible screeching sound from its mouth. It formed itself into a coil shape, and a mountain appeared within the coil, then the snake set in stone, forming the image of Snake Mountain. The sound of thunder roared deafeningly, and the image of Skeletor's face, eyes glowing intensely, came zooming rapidly out of the mountain, emitting a deafening evil laugh as his face zoomed towards The Sorceress...

Then she woke with a start. She had instantly recognized the face in her dream. She went over to the castle window, and looked outside. The thunder was roaring, the lightning cracking through the sky, jagged white bolts illuminating the skyline. This was no ordinary thunderstorm. It was a sign of a dreadful threat coming to Eternia. And The Sorceress knew that unless she did something fast, all would be lost. She did not want to inflict panic on Eternia by telling the whole planet- so she flew to the Royal Palace and warned Man-At-Arms, the man she trusted most in all Eternia. When she told him about the dream she had had, his face went pale with shock. He could sense the evil that was coming. In turn, Man-At-Arms warned King Randor and Queen Marlena of The Sorceress' premonition, and Randor instructed Teela to mobilize the palace guards for the event of possible attack. Later that day, the attack came... in a more terrifying form than they had imagined. Skeletor had harnessed the powers of the great evil spirits of the Black Continent to inflict the powers of the storm on Eternos. As the storm erupted, he attacked the city with four hired warriors at his side- the savage commanders of wildlife, Beast Man and Merman, and criminal escapees Trap Jaw and Tri-Clops. Skeletor's powers were so immense that he cut through the palace guards in no time, entered the palace, and had Randor and Marlena both captured within fields of crackling magic energy. The Sorceress intervened, but after a brief battle, even she was overcome by Skeletor's incredible dark powers. She barely managed to escape, teleporting herself back to Grayskull, instructing Man-At-Arms that he must follow her there┘ with Prince Adam at his side.

Man-At-Arms was confused by her instruction, but did as she had asked, and traveled to Castle Grayskull with Prince Adam, distressed by his parents' capture. Once they had reached Grayskull, The Sorceress appeared at the entrance, and asked that Adam enter the castle alone. Confused, the Prince crossed the Jaw Bridge, and entered the great castle.

Within the depths of Grayskull, The Sorceress explained to the young Prince that Eternia had sunk into its most dire situation in thousands of centuries. Since his initial retreat from Eternia eighteen years ago, Skeletor's powers had grown to an amazing level- to the extent that even without an army, he was already close to conquering Eternia, and at this rate, he would seize Grayskull in no time. He was the greatest evil Eternia had faced yet... and this was truly Eternia's darkest day. And as the ancient prophecy had foretold, on Eternia's darkest day, a hero would be selected from the ordinary mortals of Eternia and presented with the Sword of Power, which would duplicate the power of Grayskull within him, enabling him to defend Eternia as the embodiment of heroic power. That hero, she explained, was none other than Adam.

Adam was taken aback- for despite his intelligence and bravery, he was not yet a warrior, and he was constantly the subject of criticism by his father for his supposed cowardice. The Sorceress explained that Adam was simply a misunderstood young man, and that he possessed the courage, wisdom and sense of justice that was perfect for the defender of Eternia. And given that his true bravery had remained largely concealed from those around him, no-one would ever suspect that he and Eternia's hero were one and the same. It was time now for the ancient prophecy to be fulfilled.

The room was filled with an immense, glowing light, and out stepped the Elders of Eternia, led by Keclar. Keclar presented Adam with the Sword of Power, then the Elders formed a circle around Adam. They raised their arms, and began chanting a spell in an ancient Eternian language. The room was filled with stars and all kinds of strange symbols floating in the light. The images surrounded Adam, and the wisdom of the universe began to fill his mind. Wisdom and knowledge poured into Adam's mind by the thousands each moment. The magic symbols increased, and bright lights of all colors filled the room, whirring faster and faster around Prince Adam. The Elders kept their arms raised, spreading their power throughout the room. Magical coils whizzed around Prince Adam at an incredible speed.

The light vanished abruptly, and Adam was left standing alone in the center of the stone circle, the Sword of Power placed in his right hand. Adam didn't need an explanation. He knew just what to do. He held the sword above his head, and shouted:

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL...  
I HAVE THE POWER!!"

A huge burst of energy erupted from the blade of the sword, and surrounded Adam's whole body. Then came a flash of light, shielding Adam's form from view! The flash died down, revealing Adam once again... but now, he looked very different. Gone was the form of the thin, smart young prince, and in its place was the form of a mighty warrior, with powerful, rippling muscles. He was six feet six inches tall, with blond, shoulder length hair, almost golden in color, and a heavy tan over his body. He still bore a very vague physical resemblance to the Prince, but his great muscle mass and height made him appear a totally different person. Over his chest he wore a metal harness, with a red cross in the center.

He was now He-Man, defender and champion of Eternia! In his new form, he was taken out to see Man-At-Arms, who was amazed to be told that this mighty warrior with the gleaming sword was none other than Prince Adam. The Sorceress explained that he would be able to change from Adam to He-Man whenever danger threatened. But no-one besides Man-At-Arms and one other trustworthy person, whom He-Man must select, would be allowed to know that the two were one and the same. For if the secret was to become too widespread, it would quickly fall into enemy hands and endanger the Royal Family. So He-Man's double identity must be kept secret- even from his closest friends.

He-Man thanked The Sorceress, then he and Man-At-Arms began making their way back to Eternos City, to free the palace from Skeletor. When they reached the palace, He-Man sprang a surprise on Skeletor just as he was attempting to enslave the palace guards. The evil warlord and his minions were amazed at the strength of this fighter, who smashed each of them across the room with just one blow. Teela, King Randor and Queen Marlena watched in amazement as this mighty hero fought the evil warriors with colossal strength. Eventually, Skeletor realized that he and his warriors stood no chance against this great fighter, and so he ordered them to retreat. The King and Queen congratulated He-Man on his victory, and He-Man vowed that he would be around to help them whenever danger threatened. Inside, he was yearning to tell them he was their son- but he could only tell one other person his secret, and he had decided that other person should be none other than the girl he had grown up with, and loved the most- Teela.

After He-Man's victory, he quickly became the talk of the place around the city. Denizens were ecstatic that this amazing hero had come to defend them in their very hour of need.

But on the Black Continent, as Skeletor and his minions returned to Snake Mountain, they felt the total opposite of the people in Eternos. Skeletor was furious that a champion this mighty should arrive just as he was about to conquer Eternia. He had never expected to encounter a foe of such incredible power. This He-Man seemed to be Skeletor's strongest possible match- a single being with the power and goodness to rival his own immense evil power. He was almost an embodiment of true goodness in the way that Skeletor had become an embodiment of evil.

Immediately, Skeletor set about training his minions for an assault on Grayskull. Alongside the four warriors he had hired, during his assault on Eternos he had been pledged the services of one of the palace's maidservants, a beautiful and elegant young woman named Evelyn Powers. Evelyn was a close friend of Queen Marlena, who had possessed a strong lust for Prince Adam. For some time, a bitter rivalry had been brewing between Evelyn and Teela, who made Evelyn jealous through her closeness to the Prince. Evelyn had turned against the Queen when she had refused to let her marry Prince Adam, and she now desired vengeance on Marlena. Now using the name Evil-Lyn, she joined forces with Skeletor, who began to train her as a sorceress. Within days, Evil-Lyn showed incredible ability at mastering the powers of darkness, and was easily seduced by Skeletor's desire for power... a power that the two of them would soon share.

The following morning, Skeletor and the evil warriors teleported to Castle Grayskull, where Skeletor could finally confront The Sorceress and drain her power. The Sorceress instantly sensed their presence, and began to fight back with her magic- but she was stunned by a beam of energy, thrown by the joint powers of Skeletor and Evil-Lyn. She stumbled to the ground, but quickly used her mind power to summon Prince Adam, so he could change to He-Man and come to her aid.

When Adam heard her voice calling him, he quickly warned Man-At-Arms, then he rushed to his room, to change to He-Man. But unfortunately, as he changed, he forgot to make sure no-one was watching... And as he changed, the King's court jester, Orko, floated into the room. Orko was a strange little alien magician from the planet Trolla, who had been stranded on Eternia several years before and had been employed as court jester, even though his tricks usually went wrong due to his power being unaccustomed to this world.

Orko saw Adam transforming into He-Man- but so did Cringer, Prince Adam's pet tiger- who was scared of everything, even his own shadow, and who tried to follow the Prince everywhere he went. He walked into the room at the same time as Orko. He-Man, annoyed with himself at having blown his secret on only his second transformation, explained to Orko the powers he had been given, and made him swear to secrecy. Orko promised he would keep quiet, although He-Man was rather weary of trusting the alien magician, since he often let things slip by mistake.

Cringer was cowering into a corner as he looked up at the form of He-Man. He-Man bent towards him and tried to calm him down... but as he did so, a bolt of power shot from his sword without warning, and struck Cringer! Cringer began to grow in size... then a dark red armor saddle and helmet appeared over his body. He was no longer the weak and timid Cringer... now he was a ferocious warrior tiger!

He-Man looked in amazement at the changed form of his pet... and in his head, he heard the voice of The Sorceress, telling him that this was Battle Cat, who would serve as a trusty battle steed to propel He-Man into combat. Although he could still change back to Cringer, his double identity must also be kept secret.

He-Man did not hesitate- he leaped on Battle Cat's back, and the great tiger carried him out of the palace, and towards Grayskull, to do battle with Skeletor. A great battle ensued at Grayskull, as He-Man, with the aid of Battle Cat, Teela, Man-At-Arms and The Sorceress, defended the castle from Skeletor and his minions. He-Man, with his astounding strength, succeeded in driving the evil crew from the castle... but before he retreated, Skeletor cursed He-Man for his intervention in his scheme, and vowed to do everything within his ability to overcome He-Man and conquer Grayskull.

Although they had emerged victorious, He-Man and his friends realized that a tremendous war was ahead of them, and that they must be extra vigilant now that Eternia was facing its greatest threat yet. He-Man knew that even with his power, he alone would not be able to prevent Skeletor from conquering Eternia for long. So he sent out a call across Eternia for the strongest and most noble of the planet's warriors to join him in his struggle against evil. His call was answered by numerous strong and mighty warriors, and together they formed the team of defenders who became known as the Masters of the Universe.

But Skeletor also expanded his forces by recruiting armies of great, bloodthirsty demons from across Eternia's Black Continent, along with a team of evil warriors to carry out his bidding. Almost day by day, He-Man and the Heroic Warriors were locked in mortal combat with Skeletor and his band of villains, determined to do all they could to conquer Eternia. As the battles continued, He-Man and his forces became stronger, but Skeletor became more crafty and cunning, and succeeded in conquering several kingdoms across Eternia, his schemes constantly becoming more and more difficult to beat.

He-Man's struggle against the forces of darkness was underlined by a great frustration over the double identity that his acquisition of Grayskull's powers had forced upon him. He was forced into putting on an act as Prince Adam, exaggerating his fun-loving and careless side. Although this act protected his secret, it caused King Randor to become ever more disappointed with Adam as he seemingly failed to live up to his expectations as Prince. And even worse, Teela's annoyance with Adam grew to the point where she made constant verbal attacks at him, yet this was juxtaposed by her intense love and admiration for He-Man. Adam was determined to tell her his secret identity, but with Orko having already stumbled upon the secret by accident, he was forbidden from doing so, and was thus blocked from revealing his true self to her. His personal frustrations only served to complicate the great war between good and evil, as the battles became more and more stressful and difficult for Adam. Although the forces of good continued to ensure Grayskull's safety, Skeletor was succeeding in causing mass destruction across Eternia.


	11. 11 The Princess Of Power

**Chapter 11: The Princess of Power**

After two years of fighting Skeletor on Eternia, Adam was summoned by The Sorceress to Castle Grayskull. She presented him with a sword that bore an exact resemblance to his own, aside from one major distance- in its center was a bright, shimmering jewel. The Sorceress told him that he must travel to the world of Etheria with this sword, his mission being to find its owner. She could not tell him who this person was- but assured him that it was someone with a destiny as special as his own.

Adam traveled to Etheria, where he met Carlos, the scientist who held the position of deputy leader of the Great Rebellion, beneath Princess Glimmer. Although he was immediately struck by the immense beauty of Etheria, Adam soon bore witness to severe atrocities being committed by the Horde towards peasants on a slave plantation. Shocked by their violence, Adam agreed to help the Great Rebellion whilst he was on Etheria. He and Carlos attacked the Troopers and successfully freed the slaves. Carlos was extremely impressed with Adam's battle skill, and took him to the Rebels' hideout in Whispering Woods, where he introduced him to Princess Glimmer.

The news soon reached the Rebels that the Horde now had plans to enslave all the natives of the village of Thaymore. So Glimmer led them to the Fright Zone, and the Rebels attacked before the Horde could transport the villagers to the mines. Adam changed to He-Man, and soon found himself in battle with Force Captain Adora, Hordak's most trusted warrior. But he was shocked to see that in Adora's presence, the sword he had been given was glowing. But surely the sword could not be for her... she was clearly evil and bloodthirsty.

He-Man eventually wound up captured by the Horde, and subjected to extreme torture at the hands of Adora. But as Adora sadistically inflicted immense pain on He-Man, she was contacted telepathically by The Sorceress, who informed her that she had been brainwashed at childhood to serve the Horde, and that He-Man was none other than her twin brother. The Sorceress told her she must use the Sword of Protection to put right the wrongs she committed as Adora, and free Etheria from the Horde.

As The Sorceress communicated with her, Adora felt herself surrounded by the presence of the Elders of Eternia. Under their magic, the cybernetic implants inserted by Horde Prime into Adora's brain were removed outright. For the first time in her life, she was truly herself... and she was immediately overcome by an enormous sense of guilt over the crimes she had committed.

But The Sorceress assured her that she would be redeemed for all her crimes, and her role now was to put right the wrongs of the Horde. Adora raised the sword above her head, and shouted:

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL...

I AM SHE-RA!"

For the first time, the magic of the sword transformed her into She-Ra, Princess of Power. She immediately freed her brother, and returned his sword to him, restoring his strength. Together, the two heroes escaped from the Fright Zone, and freed Hordak's prisoners. They fled to a nearby wood, where The Sorceress revealed the whole story to them both. She told them of Adora's capture from her parents as a child, and how she had lived her whole life under a cybernetic brainwashing. After twenty years of total loss over the whereabouts of Adora, the Elders had finally located her. And upon realizing the desperate position that both Adora and Etheria were in, the Elders had concluded that it was necessary to present her with King Grayskull's old sword- the Sword of Protection, enabling her to become the defender of Etheria as well as fulfilling the ancient prophecy of King Grayskull, of the female defender who would bring the power of the universal mother into the war against evil.

Adora returned to the Rebel camp, declared her defection from the Horde, and stated that to amend for her crimes, she would pledge her services to the Rebellion. Glimmer and Carlos were convinced by her defection and accepted her into their ranks, but many ordinary citizens were skeptical after all the destruction she had caused, and she received a hostile reception. Shortly afterwards, upon realizing that Adora had gone missing, Hordak led his army into an air attack on Bright Moon. But when he found Adora, she angrily renounced her allegiance with him to his face, taking him aback. Then, as the Rebels entered combat with the Horde, she became She-Ra, and together with He-Man, drove the Horde from the kingdom. For the first time, the ordinary people of Etheria were presented with She-Ra, the great heroine who had come to their aid. For the first time in two decades, things actually seemed to be looking up for the Etherians.

After their victory, She-Ra's sword began to glow, and a voice emitted from within its jewel, calling He-Man and She-Ra to follow the glow. They did so, and soon found themselves in front of a mysterious castle, shimmering with bright crystal. Within the castle, they met Light Hope, who explained that he had guarded the Crystal Castle for centuries to channel the power of the Elders onto Etheria. It was time now for the power of the Ancients to return to Etheria through She-Ra's force, and the Crystal Castle would serve as a safe haven for She-Ra, with Light Hope operating as her advisor in the midst of the struggles. She was also presented with Swift Wind- a winged unicorn who would serve as her steed.

Adora returned to Eternia with Adam, and was reunited with her parents, who were overjoyed to see her alive and well. But Hordak followed her, and back on Eternia for the first time in twenty years, he sought out his old ally Skeletor at Snake Mountain. When Skeletor realized that this being was none other than his former master Xazrog, they began a huge fight- but Hordak called a halt and explained he was only on Eternia to recapture Adora, and would leave Skeletor in peace once this task was accomplished.

Hordak, aided by Skeletor and his minions, broke into the Royal Palace and recaptured Adora. But back at Snake Mountain, Skeletor betrayed his former master once again and trapped him in a dungeon with a huge, man-eating serpent. Hordak was unprepared for this encounter, and almost lost. But help was at hand from one of Skeletor's assistants- and this assistant was none other than Galen Nycroft, who after two more decades of developing his diabolical experiments, had been mutated into Modulok, the beast of a thousand bodies, and been recruited by Skeletor as his scientist. But Skeletor had treated Modulok with such disrespect that Modulok had grown tired of following his orders. Remembering the immense technological skill of the Horde during the Great Unrest, Modulok decided this force would offer him better recognition than Skeletor. After rescuing Hordak from the giant serpent, by confusing it with his multiple body parts, Modulok pledged his services to Hordak, who did not hesitate to accept.

In the meantime, Skeletor was planning to take control of Adora's mind himself, so that she would serve him as she had served Hordak. Evil-Lyn took Adora to her chamber, where she tried to possess her mind again with a spell. But Adora fought back at Evil-Lyn and escaped, transforming into She-Ra and battling her way through Skeletor's minions, just as He-Man and his friends came to her service. Skeletor was furious to see his worst nightmare appear before him- a female He-Man. Hordak, seeing that he had no chance of recapturing Adora with He-Man and She-Ra in his way, returned to Etheria with Modulok. Adora returned to Eternos, where she explained to her parents that she must go back to Etheria, to help the Rebellion overthrow the Horde, and amend for the crimes she had committed in their service. Randor and Marlena understood, and bade her farewell.

As King Grayskull had prophesized all those centuries ago, the balance between the universe's defense was now complete, with She-Ra's position bringing feminine nurture and strength into the war, to protect the Honor of Grayskull. The wars raged on throughout both Eternia and Etheria, with He-Man and She-Ra remaining the true saviors of both worlds. The two heroes shared many adventures as their wars were interwoven, and they fought together to defeat the evil forces that plagued their worlds.

But life was far from easy for both of them. Adora found her life particularly hard, as she was constantly plagued by guilt and nightmares over the evil she had wreaked under the Horde. She was also faced with the crisis of being simultaneously the most hated and the most loved woman on Etheria. Many people bitterly resented Adora for having slaughtered their homelands and killed their loved ones. Thousands of people were skeptical of her allegiance with the Rebellion, and campaigns were held to imprison or execute her. Yet at the same time, as she saved many civilians and advanced the Rebellion's position as She-Ra, she became widely adored and worshipped throughout Etheria, by people who believed She-Ra was some kind of Goddess come to save them. This evoked an identity crisis within her that was far more severe than anything her brother had faced, and almost drove her to suicide on several occasions. It was only through her own inner psychological strength, and the support of Carlos, Glimmer, He-Man and The Sorceress, that she was able to vow to struggle onwards nevertheless and make amends for her crimes.

Meanwhile, the presence of She-Ra quickly drove Hordak to insanity. Not only had she cost him his finest warrior, Adora, but she was posing a serious threat to his rule of Etheria. At first he had viewed her as a mere nuisance, but as he and his minions engaged in more and more battles with her, he realized the incredible extent of this woman's power. The Horde suffered more and more losses in battle, and the Rebellion grew stronger. She-Ra even succeeded in warding off Horde Prime's interventions in the war on several occasions. Hordak worked on expanding his forces as extensively as possible to maintain his rule. Since She-Ra came from Grayskull, and thus commanded the very power that Hordak sought the most, he hoped that somehow, through his battles with her, he would find the key to obtaining the wisdom of the Elders and the secrets he needed to rule the universe.

At the same time, the Great Rebellion expanded as their battles crossed all of Etheria, catching the attention of more great warriors, who pledged their services to the Rebellion. Adora also found a love interest at sea, when she met the pirate Sea Hawk, and convinced him to leave behind his service to the Horde. At first Adora was overrun by low self-esteem, thinking Sea Hawk was only interested in She-Ra, but was overjoyed when it turned out that it was in fact Adora whom he loved the most.

Among Hordak's new recruits were two warriors from ancient times. Having heard the legends of the two Snake Men who escaped to Etheria after the defeat of King Hiss, and turned the area of the Fright Zone into what it was today, Hordak went in search of the tomb of General Rattlor and Tung Lashor. He came upon their preserved remains, and via a combination of Horde technology and Shadow Weaver's magic, revived their bodies, and recruited them into the Horde.

The constant losses that Hordak was experiencing against She-Ra evoked the desire in him to assault the power of Grayskull directly, so he chose to re-establish his presence on Eternia. He journeyed back to Eternia, and uncovered the original Eternian Fright Zone, which had been the base of Prime many centuries ago. He rebuilt the base to his own standards, and transported segments of his army to Eternia. From here, he made a series of assaults on Grayskull, but these were foiled by He-Man. He also made several attempts on Snake Mountain, amazed at how strongly Skeletor's powers had expanded since they had worked together. The chaos on Eternia increased as the Evil Horde entered the war, coming after both He-Man and Skeletor.


	12. 12: The Return Of King Hiss

**Chapter 12: The Return of King Hiss**

In spite of Hordak's return to Eternia, the planet still faced greater danger... in the form of a major blast from the past. During one of the battles between the Horde and Skeletor's warriors, the presence of General Rattlor and Tung Lashor caught the attention of one of Skeletor's minions, Kobra Khan, who had joined Skeletor's forces a year before the Horde's return. Khan was a former member of the Reptons, regarded now as a traitor to his race. He had spent his lifetime studying the ancient rule of King Hiss, and had become convinced that the Snake Race was superior to all others. He had come before the Reptons' ruler, King Pythos, and demanded that the Reptons break their alliance with the Elders and rise up to re-establish the rule of their race on Eternia. Pythos had refused, maintaining that the Reptons were a peaceful race who would never return to the evil ways of their ancestors. So Khan took action for himself. Ever since the establishment of the Reptons' underground kingdom, they had worshipped the Goddess, via a statue of her in the sacred chamber. Khan cast away this statue, replacing it with a statue of Serpos. He lured King Pythos into the chamber and attempted to assassinate him, paralyzing him with his sleep mist and draining his life force with the statue of Serpos. But Pythos' guards caught Khan in the act, overpowered him, and imprisoned him in their dungeons.

But Khan could not be beaten so easily. He received help from his ally, Webstor, the Arachna. Half man and half spider, Webstor had recently been recruited into Skeletor's forces, hired for his brilliant mind and ability to escape any trap, no matter how complex. Khan and Webstor had been close friends for some time, ever since Khan had first encountered Webstor, lurking in a web he had spun close to the entrance of the Reptons' kingdom. Webstor, a loner whose only real concern was to fend for himself, immediately got on well with Khan, for both were of a highly independent, reserved nature, and found that in one another's company they felt free to speak their usually secretive minds, identifying strongly with one another. After several months of their acquaintance, Khan had revealed to Webstor his secret desire to reclaim the glory of the Snake People and re-establish their supremacy over regular humans, along with his plans to assassinate King Pythos and take his place as ruler of the Reptons. Webstor respected Khan's initiative and offered to watch over his scheme, so he could free Khan if he were caught. So while Khan had carried out his attempted assassination of Pythos, Webstor had hidden in the corner of a dark corridor to observe the procedure, ready to spring into action when he was needed. He kept quiet when the guards escorted Khan to the jail, as he knew that the armed guards may be able to beat him. But once Khan was imprisoned, Webstor, as the master of escape, had no trouble sneaking into the jail, and freeing Khan from his cell.

Together, Kobra Khan and Webstor had escaped from the Reptons' kingdom, and Khan decided that his only hope for restoring the supremacy of his race was to free King Hiss himself. So Webstor had suggested that Khan offer his services to Skeletor. As Skeletor was based within Snake Mountain, an alliance with him could allow Khan to explore the fortress and find the Void in which King Hiss had been sealed. Khan had agreed, and journeyed with Webstor to Snake Mountain, where he pledged his services to Skeletor. Once he had been accepted into Skeletor's forces, Khan, with the assistance of Webstor, set about locating the Void into which King Hiss and the Snake Army had been cast.

After Khan's encounter with the Horde, he immediately recognized General Rattlor and Tung Lashor from the ancient paintings... and upon hearing Hordak address them by those exact names, realized that they were indeed original natives of his own race... in the flesh, despite having supposedly died centuries ago. Together with Webstor, Khan journeyed to Etheria, where Webstor managed to break into Doom Tower, enabling Khan to confront his ancestors and reveal his plan. Once he explained that his aim was to resurrect King Hiss and restore the Snake People to their former glory, Rattlor and Tung Lashor immediately renounced their allegiance to the Horde, and accompanied Khan back to Eternia.

Within the depths of Snake Mountain, Khan, Rattlor, Tung Lashor and Webstor journeyed deep into the underground caverns, until they finally came across the Void, into which King Hiss had been cast. They gathered in front of the Void in a circle, with a statue of Serpos placed in the center. They began their ritual, chanting an ancient incantation to evoke the magic of Serpos. The statue began to glow as the Snake Men felt the presence of their God, the barrier of the Void was breached... and out came none other than King Hiss. The great Lord of the Snake People, and the diabolical former ruler of Eternia, was finally free.

Reacquainting himself with his former kingdom, Hiss' first move was to make an assault on his goal of Castle Grayskull. He tricked the Heroic Warriors into allowing him into the castle, by posing as a regular human with his false skin. Once inside, he summoned his three Snake Men to join him in the attack. He almost overpowered The Sorceress, and was driven off only by a mighty combined effort from He-Man and the Masters. His goal of obtaining Grayskull was still not going to be easy┘ but he would not give in, and vowed to learn from the mistakes he had made all those centuries ago. He knew he could not hope to conquer Eternia with only three Snake Men at his side, especially since he was uneasy about how strongly he could trust them, given their previous allegiances. Two of them had served the Horde prior to his resurrection, and the third was not only a descendant rather than an original member of his army, but had been working closely with Skeletor. So Hiss formed an uneasy alliance with Skeletor, and joined him in his schemes to overcome the Masters.

He-Man and the Heroic Warriors now faced treble trouble as Skeletor, Hordak and King Hiss all made their assaults on Eternia, and the battles grew harder and fiercer. Although King Hiss was allied with Skeletor, he harbored no greater desire than to break the alliance and unleash his Snake Army. Shortly after his escape, Skeletor had re-sealed the Void and used his magic to create a metaphysical barrier around it, preventing any further Snake Men from being unleashed. But King Hiss was determined to find other means of bringing his army to the present.

Through his navigations of Eternia, he found the spot where the Three Towers had once stood┘ but they were nowhere to be seen. Kobra Khan informed him that the ancient books claimed the towers were sunk into the ground by the Elders, to protect them after the invasion of Prime. So King Hiss set about plotting to raise the towers once again. He obtained a magic medallion from an ancient temple on the Sands of Time, which had once belonged to the Snake priest, Asp'r. He summoned the magic of Serpos, and raised the Three Towers to ground level. The Ultimate Battleground was back on Eternia's surface.

Although the Three Towers had played a part in King Hiss' defeat all those centuries ago, he was now convinced he could manipulate their power to boost his strength and achieve his goals of domination. Within the walls of Viper Tower, he set about exploring the spells that had been left there, and summoning the magic he would need to unleash Serpos upon Eternia.

Once he had fully harnessed the power of Viper Tower, he was able to journey back to the Void beneath Snake Mountain, where he used the power he had gained to break Skeletor's protective barrier, and unleash two of his prime assassins- Sssqueeze and Snake Face. Snake Face's power- to turn organic creatures into stone with a mere look at his gruesome face- was particularly deadly, and within moments, half of Skeletor's warriors were imprisoned in stone. King Hiss attempted to banish Skeletor from Snake Mountain and regain his former stronghold for himself. But Skeletor, having no solid eyes, was immune to Snake Face's stare and just managed to fend off Hiss with his magic. But the alliance between the two warlords was over. King Hiss retreated to Viper Tower with his unleashed assassins, followed by a band of regular Snake soldiers.

But it wasn't long before the reappearance of the Three Towers caught the attention of the Masters. Exploring Grayskull Tower and Central Tower, He-Man realized the danger Eternia could be in if King Hiss or any other evil force obtained its power. Permanent guards were established around the towers. King Hiss was uncomfortable with the Heroic Warriors basing themselves in such close proximity to his headquarters, and ordered his Snake Warriors to advance on the Masters. A great battle ensued, but the Masters harnessed some of the magic within Grayskull Tower to fend off the Snake Men, and soon Hiss and his forces were driven from the Three Towers altogether. King Hiss realized it was not safe to base himself permanently in Viper Tower, where the Heroic Warriors could view his moves far too clearly. He retreated with his Snake Men to an underground hideout within Subternia. His powers had been greatly boosted by the magic within Viper Tower, and he planned to obtain the magic of Central Tower before reclaiming Snake Mountain and attacking Castle Grayskull.

The Heroic Warriors were now free to undertake a full exploration of the Three Towers. Although Viper Tower proved dangerous, they were able to harness many great powers within Grayskull Tower and Central Tower. Through studying the towers closely, it transpired that on one particular night each year, when the veil between dimensions was at its weakest, the magic of the Towers could be harnessed to bring forth the Winds of Time, and peer into them to view any other dimensions throughout space and time. King Randor decided to use this opportunity to find out once and for all what had really happened to his brother, Keldor.

On the night when the veil of dimensions was at its weakest, Randor, The Sorceress, and Prince Adam gathered around Central Tower. The Sorceress used her magic to call forth the Winds of Time. But their attempt to discover the secret of Keldor was thwarted by Skeletor, who attacked them midway through the ritual. By the time they had managed to fend him off, the Winds were passed. They had learned nothing of Keldor's disappearance... but it was clear that Skeletor would do anything to prevent them discovering the secret. Obviously, whatever the truth behind Keldor's disappearance, Skeletor had a strong connection with it. King Randor then recalled that Skeletor's sudden appearance on Eternia during the Great Unrest had coincided almost exactly with the disappearance of Keldor.

Skeletor quickly realized the danger that he faced, with the increasing power of the Masters and the double rivalry he faced from King Hiss and Hordak. The Masters were sure to try again to discover the secret of Keldor, so he must stop them before it was too late. He must take serious action. He set about recruiting a whole team of new warriors to aid in his schemes, and made repeated vicious assaults on the Three Towers, Eternos and Castle Grayskull. The war on Eternia grew more and more fierce by the day.


	13. 13 Conquest of the Crystal Castle

**Chapter 13: Conquest of the Crystal Castle**

As the war raged over Eternia, on Etheria Hordak made a great development when Shadow Weaver finally managed to discover the location of the power channel on Etheria for the powers of Grayskull. Through her magic, Shadow Weaver managed to locate the position of some kind of undetermined power source that was connected to Grayskull. Hordak led his troops to this spot, and through a combination of their magic and science, they were able to bring the Crystal Castle into view.

The Horde immediately mounted a tremendous attack on the castle. They confronted its guardian, Light Hope, who was unprepared for their assault. At the same time, Modulok advanced on the kingdom of Bright Moon, with his deadliest machine yet- the Tornado Generator, able to generate a massive hurricane through its enormous levels of electrical power. The whole of Bright Moon was caught in a hurricane, and buildings were destroyed as civilians were blown off their feet by the immense wind. And as Light Hope at that moment succumbed to the force of the Horde... Adora's attempt to become She-Ra failed as the transferal of the power of Grayskull to her sword was blocked by the Horde's attack. She could only watch in dismay as Bright Moon was blown apart before her eyes.

Within the Crystal Castle, the combined powers of Hordak and his Horde soon had Light Hope paralyzed within a field of energy. Hordak then set about summoning all the powers of darkness to create a new entity to guard the castle. Since Light Hope was a manifestation of the essence of light, evoking hope for the forces of good, Hordak concentrated the elements of the powers of darkness to form a similar entity -one which would be the essence of darkness, thus evoking hope for the dark forces rather than the light. The being he would name Dark Hope manifested within the chamber, a thick, black mist, swirling round Light Hope and eclipsing him from view. Dark Hope was the new guardian of the Crystal Castle.

With control of the castle at his hands, Hordak used the power of Dark Hope to harness the castle's links to Grayskull. He and his entire army, now joined by Modulok, victorious from his assault on Bright Moon, were teleported into Castle Grayskull itself. They sprang a surprise attack on The Sorceress, and were ready to repeat their achievement in the Crystal Castle.

But all was not yet lost for Eternia. During Modulok's assault on Bright Moon, Carlos had managed to jet off to Eternia in one of his space vehicles, to find He-Man and tell him of the situation on Etheria. He-Man had come to the defense of Bright Moon, but even his own powers had not been enough to save the kingdom from the Tornado Generator. As Modulok retreated once the kingdom lay in ruins, He-Man and Adora followed him┘ and were shocked when they realized he was heading towards the Crystal Castle. They caught up with him just as the Horde passed through the portal to Grayskull.

They attempted to follow the Horde through the portal, but their way was blocked by Dark Hope. After a vicious battle with the castle's deadly new guardian, He-Man barely managed to breach the portal to Eternia. Once inside Castle Grayskull, he called upon the Elders for more power. Adora was finally able to become She-Ra, and He-Man and She-Ra, with the power of the Elders at their command, managed just in time to drive the Horde from the castle. The Horde were soon lost in the castle's void of confusion, and many troopers were banished to far-off realms by the castle's magic. But Hordak- and most of his army- managed to reach the entrance, and stormed over the Jaw Bridge, vanishing into the distance.

Castle Grayskull was safe... for now. But the Horde's power had been bolstered enormously by their conquest of the Crystal Castle, whilst Etheria was now truly devastated by war. With the destruction of Bright Moon, the Horde had almost entirely overcome the threat the Rebels had posed to their rule. And the Crystal Castle, which had always maintained a subtle existence to guard the essence of hope and wisdom on the planet, was now controlled by evil. Eternia, meanwhile, was under even greater threat from the Horde's increased power. With most of the Rebellion wiped out, and Bright Moon destroyed, the Horde were bound to concentrate their sights on Eternia and Grayskull now.

He-Man and She-Ra immediately took action. She-Ra contacted Glimmer back on Etheria, and instructed her and Queen Angella to help protect the people of Etheria, for her own power was required on Eternia.

But Hordak, once he had reached his lair in the Eternian Fright Zone, made similar arrangements. Force Captain Catra would take charge of matters on Etheria in the meantime, whilst Hordak concentrated on conquering Grayskull once and for all.

Almost daily, Eternia was engulfed by fierce combat as the Horde made repeated assaults on Eternos and Grayskull. Skeletor and King Hiss were also evoked to increase their efforts, determined to beat the Horde to overcome the planet. But despite the great powers of all three forces, they all continued to fail... for they were now countered by the combined powers of He-Man and She-Ra together.

So the three evil leaders held a meeting at Snake Mountain. They agreed that in order for them to defeat He-Man and rule Eternia, it was necessary for them to combine all their forces against the unified strength of the Masters and the Rebellion. Then, once He-Man, She-Ra and The Sorceress were defeated, they would battle between themselves to determine which of them would hold onto Eternia. They set about concocting the ultimate invasion.


	14. 14 The Victory Of Evil

**Chapter 14: The Victory of Evil**

As the evil forces joined together to prepare the ultimate invasion of Eternos, Shadow Weaver and Evil-Lyn combined their powers to fake a summons from Light Hope to He-Man and She-Ra. The two heroes received the fake communication from Light Hope claiming to be trapped on another world, where they must go in order to free him. Unsuspectingly, they followed the summons to this alien world. Once He-Man and She-Ra had left Eternia, the three evil forces began their march upon the Royal City.

The Masters stood no chance against the combined might of the three evil armies. Eternos City soon lay in ruins. Man-At-Arms managed to radio through to Glimmer on Etheria, and several members of the Rebellion traveled to Eternia to assist the Masters. But even their combined might was not enough to resist the evil forces, and once Eternos was overcome, the evil warriors began to march towards Grayskull. But before they could reach Grayskull, Carlos managed to contact He-Man and She-Ra and free them from the prison they had been caught in on the alien world. They returned to Eternia just in time to stop the evil forces' attack on Grayskull.

But Eternos City was in ruins- and within the remains of the Royal Palace, Skeletor placed himself on Eternia's throne. Before Hordak and King Hiss could attempt to fight him for the crown, he cast a spell to banish them away from the palace. Finally, he was able to proclaim himself ruler of Eternia.

The planet soon quaked in fear at Skeletor's rule, as chaos was spread throughout Eternia. The Masters, reduced to fugitives after Skeletor's defeat, were forced to find a new sanctuary from which to counter the evil that ruled Eternia. They took up residence in the Three Towers.

Although both Hordak and King Hiss desired to fight Skeletor for the crown of Eternia, they still had the threat of the Masters to worry about. So they struck a deal with Skeletor that the Horde and the Snake Army would be given their own segments of Eternia to rule. Hordak was given rule over the Northlands, while King Hiss ruled over the Eastern Continent. Soon, the whole planet was dominated by evil, and slaughter and mayhem spread over Eternia. It was rapidly on its way to becoming a clone of Infinita.

The Masters remained on constant patrol throughout Eternia, whilst defending Grayskull against the evil forces. She-Ra, meanwhile, was faced with the dilemma of dividing her defenses between Eternia and Etheria, as Catra continued to create havoc for the remaining civilians on Etheria. Life became even more difficult for He-Man. The claustrophobic atmosphere of living in the Three Towers, without even so much as proper bedrooms, proved to take its toll on his stress levels. In this environment, it was much harder for him to keep his secret- and Randor continued to rant at Adam with fury and disappointment over his lack of participation in Eternia's defense. Adam found it increasingly difficult to keep his calm and felt he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

After a severe attack on the Three Towers by the Snake Army, Adam found himself blamed for deserting his people, when he had in fact defended them from the attack as He-Man. After one particularly violent rant from his father over his apparent indifference to Eternia's welfare, Adam had finally had enough. He had endured almost five years of his father's ignorance of his true achievements, and no longer caring what kind of fate Grayskull may deliver to him, he held his sword aloft and transformed to He-Man in front of Randor.

Randor was taken aback by what he had just witnessed. He was overcome with a sense of pure amazement- and also extreme guilt over the hard time he had given Adam for all these years. The sudden influx of pride he felt towards his son contrasted uneasily with enormous shame over his ignorance of Adam's heroism, and his lack of closeness to his son. Although when he had been granted the powers of He-Man, Adam had been told that he could risk losing this privilege if he ever willingly revealed his secret to someone else, The Sorceress took sympathy on him when he had explained the circumstances, and he was pardoned.

Shortly afterwards, the night came once again that the Winds of Time could be harnessed to view beyond the dimensional veil. The search for Keldor was on again. And once again, Skeletor attempted everything he could to stop it. As Randor, He-Man, and The Sorceress gathered outside the Three Towers, Skeletor interrupted The Sorceress' spell with an attack from underground, burrowing beneath the heroes with a drilling machine. But before he could stop them, Hordak showed up on the scene, and attempted to foil Skeletor's attempt to foil the spell! He used his latest machine to hold Skeletor paralyzed, while his prime assassin Mosquitor set about draining Skeletor's life force. While Skeletor was held, the heroic warriors were able to see beyond the veil between dimensions.

A faint image of Keldor was seen through the Winds of Time. But before they could see anything more, Evil-Lyn, who was determined her master not be destroyed yet for the sake of absorbing a share of his power herself, struck up behind the Sorceress and blasted her with her magic beams, distracting her from the spell. The Winds of Time passed by, and nothing more was revealed.

A battle ensued between the Masters, the Horde and Skeletor. The Horde were quickly overpowered, and fled the scene. But once Skeletor was free of the Horde's grip, he managed to harness a portion of the Winds' power and held open the veil between dimensions for a few moments longer. He then projected his power towards Randor, and Randor began to fade from view. Skeletor laughed in triumph, declared that Randor was as lost as his brother, and fled the scene.

He-Man and The Sorceress rushed over to the fallen body of Randor, rapidly fading from view. The Sorceress had been weakened by the blast she had received from Evil-Lyn, and was too weak to reverse Skeletor's spell. Randor declared one final time his pride in Adam for his true heroism, and asked that he continue the search for Keldor himself. Randor then faded from view entirely, lost in dimensions beyond time.

No new knowledge had been gained about the disappearance or whereabouts of Keldor. But Hordak's attempt to stop Skeletor's plan and allow the Masters to see the truth revealed one thing- Hordak possessed some kind of knowledge about Keldor's disappearance, and was willing to reveal the truth to the Masters to bring about Skeletor's demise. Whatever the connection between Skeletor and Keldor's disappearance, it was clearly strong, and He-Man, angered at the loss of his father, vowed to find out the truth.

Shortly after this ordeal, Skeletor and his army intruded upon the Fright Zone, threatening Hordak with horrific consequences if he dared reveal the secret of Keldor to the Masters. Skeletor managed to dissuade Hordak by reminding him that not only could the secret of Keldor potentially destroy Skeletor, but there was the chance it could destroy Hordak as well. If Keldor were ever to be found, his powers could easily be strong enough to overcome Hordak. Hordak agreed not to reveal the truth as yet, but Skeletor got his technician, Comtech, to install secret spy devices in the Fright Zone to reveal any plans Hordak may have to destroy Skeletor. The tension between the evil forces mounted as they fought for rulership of Eternia.


	15. 15 The Fall Of Castle Grayskull

**Chapter 15: The Fall of Castle Grayskull**

Attacks on Grayskull by each evil force continued to fail, due to the combined power of the Masters, He-Man and She-Ra. But further complications were abound on Etheria with the return of an old enemy of good- the warlord Prahvus. Although thought to have been killed in the explosions that resulted from the battle at the City of Lights during the Great Unrest, Prahvus resurfaced on Etheria, alive and well, with a band of henchmen and warriors at his command. He made a series of attacks on the Fright Zone, attempting to dispatch Catra from its throne. Although the Fright Zone's machinery was powerful enough to fend him off, Prahvus proved a force to be reckoned with and could not be defeated, succeeding in destroying a large portion of the Fright Zone. Although he occasionally came into conflict with the Rebels, and She-Ra had to travel between Eternia and Etheria to help defend against Prahvus' attacks, Prahvus mostly ignored the Rebels and concentrated on his attempts to infiltrate the Fright Zone. It was clear that his true goal was to overcome the Horde, and he was taking advantage of Hordak's absence from Etheria to conquer the planet for himself.

At first it was assumed that Prahvus' hatred of the Horde had been induced by his defeat at their hands during the Great Unrest. But secret missions by the Rebel spies discovered that Prahvus' connections with the Horde went back much longer than they had realized. It transpired that Prahvus was a long-time rival of Horde Prime, who felt that Prime's command of the Horde was weak and unfocused. Prahvus was a descendant of the Morior, a tribe from the early days of Horde World who aligned themselves with no particular God; the only tribe on the planet with the courage to openly oppose the rule of Prime. They took Prime to be a God of insanity, and attempted to evoke revolution among the residents of their planet, with the hope of bringing about a spiritual entity powerful enough to overcome Prime. But Prime had learned of their scheme, and struck back at them, eliminating most of their race. Prahvus, as a descendant of the few Morior survivors, had been determined for many years to do belated justice to his ancestors and overcome Prime. But although he opposed the greatest entity of evil in the universe, Prahvus, like his ancestors, was far from good. The air of evil and corruption on Horde World was so severe that it prevented most beings from fully seeing the light and avoiding degradation. Although he was not as power-mad or sadistic as Horde Prime, Prahvus nevertheless advocated extreme hierarchical order, mass destruction and slavery, and desired the power to make himself the God of the Morior, of whom his ancestors had dreamed. Once he had achieved this goal, he could overcome the power of Prime, and become the universal leader of the Horde himself. His initial attack on Eternia during the Great Unrest had been born primarily of the desire to conquer the planet, and obtain the power of Grayskull, before Prime's forces could reach it. But although he had reached the planet first, he had not managed to locate Grayskull, and therefore had not been powerful enough to beat the Horde forces when they finally arrived.

His survival after the explosions at the City of Lights, it emerged, had been enabled by his alliance with a team of mutants from the planet Denebria, who had also been present on Eternia during the Great Unrest. Denebria, the sister world of Primus in the Triax Star System, had once been a rich and fertile world, until a power-mad force which had broken off from the Horde conquered the planet with the desire to use it as a headquarters to attack Primus and obtain its technological power. But the breakaway force's own machinery had not been as strong as that of the Horde, and their assaults on Primus had backfired, causing an apocalypse to engulf Denebria, reducing the whole planet to a barren wasteland and turning the surviving humans into mutants. Blaming the Primands for the apocalypse, the mutants had been waging war on Primus ever since. During the Great Unrest, a Denebrian cyborg mutant named Optikk had invaded Eternia under the instructions of Denebria's ruler, Brakk. When Prahvus had learned that Optikk was from a breakaway force from the Horde, he had allied with him, and Optikk had utilized his technical devices to teleport both of them away from Eternia during the explosions that killed many of the warlords of the Great Unrest. Since teleporting to Denebria, Prahvus had formed an alliance with Brakk, convincing him that if he could take over the Horde for himself, he could improve the power of the Mutants, and not only help them overcome Primus, but also restore the former beauty of Denebria. Since then, while aiding the Denebrians in their assaults on Primus, and expanding his power among the mutants, Prahvus had traveled throughout the universe convincing Horde-controlled governments to dissociate themselves from the Horde, and hiring warriors from those regimes he had successfully persuaded in the hope of building his own army.

So now that Hordak was mostly absent from Etheria, Prahvus had attacked Etheria as a way through to Eternia, where he hoped to obtain the power of Grayskull and overcome his rival Horde Prime. Hordak knew he must take extreme action. The last thing he needed at the moment was his Etherian Empire being threatened when he was already having enough trouble with He-Man, Skeletor and King Hiss blocking his attempts to control all Eternia. He decided the time had come to bring the god Horde Prime into the battle.

Prime intervened in Prahvus' assaults on Etheria, but even though Prahvus was not yet as powerful as Prime, he managed to evade Prime unharmed via an ancient spell which made him immune to Prime's power. Meanwhile, his own power was greatly increasing, and he had already succeeded in hiring a series of defectors from the Horde into his own army. Prime decided that while unable to defeat Prahvus, it was time for him to attack Castle Grayskull to obtain the ultimate power sought by the Horde. He proceeded to attack Castle Grayskull with Hordak, but not only was Grayskull's own power still strong enough to overcome Prime, but this attack itself was interfered with by Prahvus, who had hired a number of independent Eternian villains to aid with his schemes as well as forming a deal with Skeletor to conspire against Horde Prime. Eternia was in a greater state of chaos than ever before- thousands of different forces were now competing with one another for control of Grayskull and the universe, and it was clear that the great showdown between good and evil, as predicted thousands of years ago by the Council of the Wise, was set to come any day. There was a high chance that no-one would survive.

After Prime's assault on Grayskull had proven unsuccessful, while the Horde continued to face increasing competition from Prahvus, Hordak realized there was only one solution to the chaos. All the evil forces must work together once again- and not just the Evil Warriors, Snake Men and Horde- but also Prahvus, and all the many independent villains who wreaked their own havoc over Eternia. It was time for the forces of darkness to make their ultimate assault against the light.

Hordak called a meeting of all the evil warlords on Eternia, and they set about concocting the ultimate assault on Grayskull. Skeletor had all his forces at the ready. King Hiss, via a tip-off from the recently resurrected Goddess Shokoti, had uncovered an ancient relic that could be used to resurrect Serpos. With all his Snake Warriors, he held a great ritual around Snake Mountain, and after centuries of imprisonment, Serpos finally broke free from his rock solid confinement. Skeletor's lair was no more- now, there was only the remains of a regular mountain, while Serpos coiled through the air in its gruesome, scaly glory. But Skeletor was not annoyed at the destruction of his lair- it was worth the sacrifice for the great assault- and he was confident that before long he would have only one true lair. Castle Grayskull.

Prahvus agreed to a truce with Horde Prime and Hordak for the necessity of the attack on Grayskull. They were joined by all the Horde defectors, Shokoti, and countless freelance villains from across Eternia- the great Count Marzo, Evilseed of the plant kingdom, Dronicus the Prince of the Undead, Negator the computer whiz, Gorak the master of death, and many others. Together, they all marched on Grayskull in one huge attack.

Because of the sheer volume of warlords, warriors, Gods and Goddesses, the evil forces did not even have to worry this time about getting He-Man and She-Ra out of the way. They stormed Castle Grayskull, instantly combining their powers to overcome The Sorceress. She was paralyzed by their power in no time, and was beamed to another dimension. He-Man, She-Ra and their respective forces were themselves overpowered by the attack, and almost lost their lives attempting to defend Grayskull. The spirits of the Elders intervened, but even they were overpowered by the immense powers of the evil forces, and were reduced to nothing more than stagnant ghosts of consciousness. Even the castle's numerous voids of chaos and confusion were not enough to overcome the combined powers of the evil forces. Many warriors were too weak to make it all the way through- but eventually, the most powerful of the evil forces made it to the center of the castle, finding the Glowing Orb present before them. Skeletor, Hordak, King Hiss, Evil-Lyn, Prime, Shokoti, Serpos and Prahvus all reached the center. Now it was between them for the universe. Skeletor quickly thrust a huge burst of his energy at the others, sending them stumbling back. Then he reached the orb, gripped it, held it aloft...

And the power of the universe was bestowed upon him. A shower of immense magical energy rained down on Skeletor, and his form increased in size as he absorbed the vast power of the cosmos. His costume was replaced with a robe of solid gold, and as the other warriors watched in amazement, Skeletor spoke out loud, his voice and image projected holographically all over Eternia as he declared: "I am now more than man... more than life... I am a GOD!"

Skeletor had conquered Castle Grayskull.

The castle began to shake and quiver under the power of its new master. Every single warrior within its walls had no choice but to flee- as far as their strength could carry them. All over Eternia, denizens would kneel at the mere mention of Skeletor's name. The new era had truly begun.


	16. 16 The Gods Of Evil

**Chapter 16: The Gods of Evil**

Hordak and King Hiss were both immensely frustrated at having been beaten to the power of Grayskull by Skeletor. But they had both managed to swipe a portion of the power via their battle with the spirits of the Elders and their conquest of the castle's chaotic vortex. They immediately set out individually to use that power to their advantage.

Hordak used this power to challenge Horde Prime himself. Prime found himself being overcome by the very power he had struggled for years to obtain for himself- all at the hands of his own disciple. Hordak overpowered Prime quickly, and drew the whole force of Prime into his own body. Immediately, Hordak was powered up and took on a new, more intimidating form, larger and god-like. He may not have obtained all the power of Grayskull- but he was now a God himself, and was more than formidable a challenge for Skeletor. During Hordak's assault on Prime, Prahvus had also intervened and swiped a portion of Prime's power for himself.

King Hiss took similar measures. A sacred ritual was held on the Sands of Time, with Shokoti and all the Snake People who had been freed. The power of Grayskull was combined with the power of Serpos, and King Hiss and Serpos merged into one.

Eternia was now under its biggest threat in history. Three great forces of evil dominated the planet, and each of the evil leaders now had the powers of the Gods. And the fourth leading antagonist, Prahvus, was coming very close to gaining this level of power himself. The whole universe was under threat. And the Masters had suffered most severely after Skeletor's victory at Grayskull. Grayskull was no longer the safe haven of justice and righteousness that it had been for all these years, ever since its creation. It was now a stronghold of evil, and with the power of the castle at the command of Skeletor, Adam and Adora could no longer call upon its power to become He-Man and She-Ra. Instead, they had to resort to using the power within Grayskull Tower and Central Tower to fuel their energy- but the power within the towers, although incredible in its own right, still lacked the strength to counter that of Castle Grayskull itself. As a result, both He-Man and She-Ra had been considerably weakened by Skeletor's victory. Their demises could not be far off, and things looked bleak for Eternia.

So He-Man took desperate action, and called to the stars. He and the Masters were visited by Zodac, and the Cosmic Enforcers. Zodac acknowledged that this was the most crucial point in time ever since the formation of the Council of the Wise. The fate of universal harmony had never been more at stake than at this moment. The planet on which the Council of the Wise had formulated their great philosophies, and established as the epitome of balance and harmony between all living creatures, had been turned into a festering realm of evil, and the great power source they had established to preserve the spirit of goodness was now being used as a tool of evil. But all material conflict, Zodac explained, is but an outward effect of inner psychological conflict, borne of the illusion of otherness and the desire to overcome that which is other. Therefore, at this crucial moment, it was the duty of the Masters to overcome their psychological barriers and reach the light that lay in the center of the darkness. Before he left, Zodac reminded He-Man of two ancient proverbs: _'The dark can embrace the light, but can never eclipse it'_ and _'To reach the light, one must travel through the dark'_.

Thinking about Zodac's advice, She-Ra realized it could provide the key to freeing Light Hope. Although Light Hope had been blocked out by the entity Dark Hope, created by Hordak, Light Hope could still be somewhere within Dark Hope's depths. Now that Skeletor had conquered Grayskull, he, rather than Hordak, had control of Dark Hope due to the Crystal Castle's links to Grayskull. Already he was using his connection with Dark Hope to expand some of his forces to Etheria. He-Man and She-Ra decided they must rescue Light Hope, to keep Etheria as safe as possible while restoring some hope for the Masters. They teleported to Etheria through Central Tower, and embarked on a dangerous journey to the Crystal Castle, to free Light Hope.

The journey quickly proved to be not only difficult, but also extremely bizarre. Along the way, He-Man and She-Ra found themselves faced with numerous obstacles and temptations, as strange entities appeared before them offering them ultimate power and riches. The two heroes sensed something was not right, and refused these offers, pressing on towards the Crystal Castle. After battling their way through the multitude of obstacles, they finally reached the Crystal Castle, and confronted Dark Hope. A fantastic duel of magic and sorcery followed, during which He-Man and She-Ra concentrated all the heroic energy within themselves and their swords into a unified force to counter Dark Hope. Although they were still comparatively weak after their loss of Castle Grayskull, the two heroes had enough mental energy in them to weaken Dark Hope and communicate with Light Hope, deep within Dark Hope's depths. As Light Hope's power was strengthened, his light began to shine through Dark Hope, eventually illuminating the whole chamber in one huge burst... and Dark Hope faded into nothingness.

As the light of Light Hope shimmered throughout the chamber, Zodac appeared once again, and informed the two heroes that the whole journey they had just experienced had been a test set up by none other than himself. Through their struggle on the path towards the Crystal Castle, He-Man and She-Ra had been confronted by temptation towards corruption with the offers of power and wealth, and their own violent and savage instincts with the apparitions that provoked them into feeling rage. They had therefore been led to explore the dark sides of their own souls, and through transcending these dark barriers had reached the light that lay at the heart of their souls and used this to overcome the dark. They had thus achieved from their ordeal a stronger affinity with their own souls, and this had given them the power to overcome Dark Hope, tap into the essence of Light Hope and free him. Zodac stood before the two heroes, and delivered a final speech:

"All intelligent life forms possess shadow selves, which crave power, superiority and destruction. Every lifetime is a struggle to overcome corruption by the shadow selves, and retain touch with one's pure spirit. It is a difficult struggle for all... and few succeed entirely. The two of you, however, have managed to resist succumbing to the seductions of your shadows, no matter how strong the temptation. It is this ability which proves your true strength... and renders you true heroes and champions of goodness. Those who oppose you are those who have failed to hold on to their inner spirits... those who have become entirely lost in the shadows. Somewhere there is light in even the darkest of souls. As champions of light, you have the power to reach this light... and the power you need to overcome all your opposition is not only within Grayskull. It is within yourselves."

Then Zodac vanished, and He-Man and She-Ra were left triumphant and enlightened. For the first time since her freedom from the Horde, She-Ra found that the feelings of guilt and shame over the destruction she had caused during her Horde days had finally lessened as she saw the bigger picture. Now that the two heroes had a better understanding of the inner darkness that had brought about the demise of Eternia and Etheria, they were ready to strike back.

Light Hope quickly made his presence known throughout the planet, and evoked the people to rise up against the Horde. As the forces of the Rebellion and the Horde clashed, Catra and her minions were overcome, and she fled to Eternia to join her master. Etheria was now almost free of the Horde. Glimmer agreed to stay on the planet and do her utmost best to restore peace while He-Man and She-Ra continued to attend to matters on Eternia. They returned to Eternia, their confidence greatly bolstered by their experience on Etheria.


	17. 17 Fall Of The Heroes

**Chapter 17: Fall of the Heroes**

On Eternia, Skeletor felt the effect of the Crystal Castle's freedom from evil. Now that it was controlled by good once again, Skeletor felt the presence of Light Hope intrude partially upon Grayskull. He was not worried. Although he had hoped to use the Crystal Castle to channel his power through to Etheria, that planet was no major concern of his. For his next step, as the most powerful being on Eternia, was to use the power of Grayskull to conquer the universe. All he needed was to tap into the secrets hidden somewhere deep within the glowing orb, to discover how he could master the very essence of reality, time and space, and manipulate it to serve his will. Once he had achieved this, the whole universe would bow to his greatness.

Back in the Three Towers, He-Man and She-Ra set about mobilizing the defense forces to combat the mayhem in Eternia. Now that Etheria was in a relative state of calm, most of the Rebellion was transported over to Eternia to assist with the big strike back against Skeletor. He-Man and She-Ra told all the Masters and Rebels of their ordeal on Etheria, and encouraged them to hold on to their inner spirits in order to overcome the dark forces.

Although most of the Masters were all set for battle, Teela was falling seriously ill. She had suffered a sudden, mysterious and severe sickness as soon as The Sorceress had been banished from Eternia, and had been out of action due to her weak physical state. But one night, in a state of transcendence, she received telepathic communication... from her mother. Feeling the presence of her mother around her, she concentrated on tapping into that energy... and soon realized she was communicating with none other than The Sorceress of Grayskull. The Sorceress, she finally realized, was her mother- and through this telepathy, The Sorceress told her of her destiny. She was to gain the powers of Grayskull for herself and use them to defend Eternia- and if the Masters succeeded in freeing Grayskull, she would become its next guardian. She concentrated her mind on the energy within Grayskull Tower- and emerged wearing a falcon headdress and wings resembling those of The Sorceress. She then joined He-Man and She-Ra to prepare for battle.

He-Man and She-Ra journeyed across Eternia, to spread vibes of hope across the ordinary people of the planet, who now lived their lives in fear. They encouraged the people to believe in the force of the light, and to combat the power of fear. Providing them with their own battle resources, they mobilized them to help rebel against the evil that dominated the planet.

Next they set out to a remote location to enlist the help of another of Eternia's most powerful beings... one who rarely participated in the war. Granamyr, oldest and wisest of dragons, was still the ruler of Darksmoke even after all these millennia. His immense power and wisdom would prove a more than crucial aid in saving Eternia. As much as Granamyr preferred to avoid involvement with humans, he had come to trust He-Man and She-Ra over time, seeing them as the only wise members of their race. So they had to persuade him to help them at this time of great need. At first, Granamyr was unwilling to help, having seen the war as further proof of the corruption of mankind. But He-Man explained to him the great danger that faced Granamyr's own homeland and race, and that his help was needed urgently to ensure the survival of the whole universe. As much as Granamyr felt humans had become more corrupted over time, he understood that He-Man's aim was to re-embellish the sense of wisdom in the hearts of mankind and make it the norm once again. Granamyr finally agreed, and joined He-Man in his quest.

But the quest for justice proved difficult. Slaughter was taking place across Eternia day by day, and even with the power of Light Hope, and Teela's new magical powers, the Masters had still been considerably weakened and were nowhere near as strong as the evil forces. And despite her acquisition of the powers of Grayskull Tower, Teela's sickness quickly returned- in a vastly unexpected form. She complained of terrible nightmares in which she found herself committing acts of extreme violence and destruction- sometimes towards people she loved. These images began to intrude upon her waking hours, flashing through her mind, along with random bouts of hatred and thirst for blood. She was constantly experiencing vast sentiments of evil and destruction that she would never have imagined she could harbor. And as these visions and sentiments became more and more frequent, she feared that before long, she would begin to act out these desires for real. She became fearful of her own sanity and being, and for the safety of those around her. She was concerned that something may have gone wrong with the reception of her powers, and Man-At-Arms employed his best medical treatment in an effort to save her┘ but nothing had any effect. No known diseases matched the description of Teela's sickness, and it was feared that some evil force had bestowed a curse or evil spell upon her- or that she may have somehow become possessed. Even an attempted exorcism by Light Hope achieved no effect.

Meanwhile, on the side of darkness, Skeletor, Hordak and King Hiss continued to battle against one another for control of Grayskull. But Skeletor's power was so immense that even though they too were now Gods, Hiss and Hordak were not yet powerful enough to overcome the Lord of Destruction. Since they all possessed some of Grayskull's power, and the Masters were still proving a formidable enough threat, they made the decision to work together until He-Man and She-Ra lay dead at their feet, then it would be between them. Prahvus also agreed to this truce, but kept a low profile, concentrating on building his own forces while biding his time before striking at Hordak. Evil-Lyn, annoyed at Skeletor's refusal to share his power with her, began to secretly plot against her master and formed an alliance with Prahvus, planning to strike the forces above them when they least expected it.

Eventually, the annual night of the search for Keldor returned. As the veil between dimensions weakened, He-Man, She-Ra, Marlena and Teela gathered outside Central Tower once again, to continue the search. Except now, it was not only a search for Keldor, but also a search for Randor and The Sorceress- all imprisoned in the dimensions beyond time. And in order to further ensure that Skeletor would not be able to stop the spell this time, Granamyr also attended the ritual, so his great magic could keep the portal open.

This time, Skeletor was less worried about the threat that the knowledge of Keldor may pose to him. He was now a God- he could not be killed. But he still could not take the risk- and now was not yet the time for his true identity to be revealed. As before, he set out to foil the spell- this time with Hordak and King Hiss at his side.

The spell began as Teela and Granamyr used their magic to keep the veil between dimensions open. A year after Randor's defeat, He-Man finally felt the presence of his father, and managed to establish direct communication with him through the winds. Randor told him that since his banishment from Eternia, he had wandered through timeless dimensions, but had come across no sign of his brother. Only the distant past could provide them with a solid lead as to Keldor's whereabouts.

When Skeletor arrived on the scene, he was shocked to see Granamyr working with the Masters. But with Hordak and King Hiss at his side, he attacked, the three warlords doing their best to distract the Masters' attention from the portal. Granamyr turned, and began to battle with the evil warlords as Teela concentrated her energy on the portal. Telepathically bonding with her mother, she was able to harness The Sorceress' power to keep the veil apart. The warriors were presented with an image of Keldor. Skeletor, engaged in battle with Granamyr, saw that the Masters were too close to seeing the truth, and rapidly summoned all his powers, bursting past Granamyr's flame, blocking the portal and summoning the evil energy of Viper Tower to cloud the Masters' vision. The scene was blocked, and all they saw was an image of Skeletor's face amidst the cloud.

Skeletor laughed in triumph, declaring that the Masters had no chance of discovering the truth, now that he was the most powerful being on Eternia. He quickly fled the scene, but realized he could not risk giving the Masters another chance. He had to destroy them as soon as possible. The only way to do this would be to mount an all-round attack on the Three Towers. Absorbing the power of the towers would enable Skeletor to overcome the only heroic power left in Eternia. He began to gather his forces for the ultimate mission: the destruction of the Masters.

The Masters were not unprepared for Skeletor's assault. Teela, although still ill, had sensed the evil warriors' approach, and the Masters mobilized all their forces to counter the attack. Even Light Hope and Granamyr joined them to defend the towers. The evil warriors came marching towards the towers, and the Ultimate Battleground now saw its Ultimate Battle.

He-Man and Skeletor ended up dueling within Central Tower. Remembering the effect that the Tower had had on King Hiss back in the days of He-Ro, He-Man hoped that the power with the tower could in some way be used to purify Skeletor's soul and enable him to be brought to justice. As he fought his greatest enemy, he concentrated on the essence of light within himself and the tower, hoping to reinforce it within Skeletor. But it had no such effect on him. As a God, Skeletor was immune to its force of purification, and summoned all his powers to absorb the tower's magic. As Skeletor's body pulsated with the power of Castle Grayskull, he began to absorb the energy of Central Tower. As more of the only remaining heroic power on the planet was absorbed by Skeletor, He-Man found himself weakening. Eventually, he could no longer sustain the fight, and collapsed to the ground. As the power was absorbed by Skeletor, He-Man dropped his sword, became disconnected from the power of Grayskull┘ and changed back to Prince Adam, in full view of Skeletor.

As soon as Skeletor witnessed this transformation, he erupted into hysterical laughter, with both triumph and pity. The supposed most powerful man in the universe had for all this time been nothing other than the weakling Prince of Eternia. And now his most hated foe of all time was collapsed at his feet, a pitiful wreck. Skeletor could not have imagined a better victory.

As the power of Grayskull was withdrawn from Adam, She-Ra experienced the same effect and became Adora once again as she was locked in conflict with the Horde. Her secret was out- in front of all her most dreaded enemies. Hordak quickly took advantage, and captured Adora, separating her from the Sword of Protection. In desperation, Teela, Light Hope and Granamyr managed to combine their powers and drive the evil forces away before they could destroy the towers. But Skeletor had nevertheless emerged victorious- as well as possessing a portion of the power of the Three Towers, he had also managed to wipe out He-Man himself, Eternia's only hope. Adam was captured, and taken to Castle Grayskull, where he was chained alongside Skeletor's throne.

All hope looked lost for the Heroic Warriors. Skeletor really had, it seemed, won the entire war. With the absence of both He-Man and She-Ra, the Masters now posed no threat to Skeletor, and would be wiped out in no time. All Skeletor had to do was penetrate the secrets of the essence of the cosmos- and the whole universe would be his. Teela was now the most powerful member of the Masters, but her strength was greatly flawed by the sickness she was suffering, with the evil desires and visions of destruction rapidly increasing in frequency and severity. She seemed to be developing a split personality, and was afraid that she may become entirely evil.

While Prince Adam was kept chained by Skeletor's throne, a feeble wreck, Adora was taken to Hordak's brainwashing chamber within the Fright Zone. Having discovered that she was She-Ra, Hordak was now determined to repeat the brainwashing that had made Adora loyal to him throughout her childhood- and then, once he had absorbed more of Grayskull's power for himself, turn her back into She-Ra, so he could have She-Ra's power at his own command.


	18. 18 The Dimension Of Chaos

**Chapter 18: The Dimension Of Chaos**

Adora's anger over Hordak's upbringing of her, along with her ability to hold onto her true spirit, enabled her to resist most of the effect of Hordak's attempted brainwashing. Clutching on to the light within, she managed to summon Light Hope, who helped her to break free from Hordak's clutches. Once free, she then demanded to know where Skeletor had come from and what happened to Keldor. She had to find out this crucial information to bring about the defeat of Skeletor and Hordak. Hordak decided that there would be no harm to him in revealing the secret, but hoped it may help bring about Skeletor's defeat. So he revealed that Skeletor was once more ordinary than he currently appeared. But his mention of these words set off an alarm triggered by the hidden devices Skeletor had secretly installed. Skeletor teleported to the chamber, and the battle was on between himself and Hordak.

As Skeletor and Hordak fought against one another, Adora seized her chance to escape, retrieving her sword along the way. She returned to the Three Towers and informed the others of what Hordak had told her about Skeletor. Man-At-Arms explained that one of Eternia's scientists had noticed a resemblance between Skeletor's skull, and the face of Keldor. By comparing pictures of Skeletor's face with old pictures of Keldor, he claimed it could be the same person. Inferring that Keldor had vanished almost as soon as Skeletor had appeared, could this be what had happened to Keldor?

Adora knew that they must do their best to find out. Now that she had her sword back, she was able to channel just enough of the remaining energy in the Three Towers to become She-Ra again, although even as She-Ra she was considerably weaker than she had been before. She set out to Castle Grayskull to rescue her brother from the clutches of Skeletor.

By now, Adam was chained permanently to Skeletor's throne, stripped almost entirely naked and deprived of food, subject to intense beatings every day from Skeletor's henchmen. Skeletor enjoyed nothing more than to see his former greatest enemy suffer so pitifully, starving to death. This was the perfect defeat for He-Man.

But help was on its way. Lacking the power to enter Grayskull by force, She-Ra enlisted the help of Gwildor, the Thenurian locksmith and inventor famed for his creation of the amazing Cosmic Key, which had the power to transport anyone to any place throughout time and space via a series of audio tones. The Cosmic Key transported She-Ra, Teela and Gwildor to Castle Grayskull to rescue Prince Adam. But once in Grayskull, the castle's voids of confusion, now controlled by Skeletor's evil, proved too dangerous for Grayskull's former defenders. She-Ra led her companions through the voids, trusting her strength and intuition, and eventually they barely made it to the throne room, where they found Prince Adam chained to the throne, his battered torso covered in blood, oozing from the thousands of cuts and bites inflicted by Skeletor and his henchmen. He was clearly not far from death. Shocked at what had become of her brother, She-Ra began to unchain him, but was caught in the act by Skeletor's henchmen. They attacked her, but Teela just managed to summon up Light Hope, who quickly took action and increased his energy, temporarily blinding the villains and giving She-Ra the chance to free her brother. The heroes began to flee, but became lost once again in the voids of confusion. Skeletor's most dangerous assassins were hot on their trail, and had given word to their leader himself, who was on his way back to Grayskull to finish his enemies off. Gwildor rapidly banged at the tones of the Cosmic Key to retrieve the melody that would transport them to freedom, but the Key's memory had been erased by Skeletor's henchmen in the struggle, and he could not find the correct tones. Just as a swarm of evil warriors closed in on the heroes, She-Ra's sword began to glow, and a strange ethereal energy was channeled through her body. It incited her to gently touch, with the sword, a particular combination of tones on the Cosmic Key. A melody began to play, and the Key flickered to life, a portal opening before them. Before they could meet their doom, the heroes quickly entered the portal, and escaped from Skeletor's henchmen.

The portal, however, seemed to lead to nowhere. She-Ra, Teela, Gwildor and the weakened Prince Adam found themselves stranded in a vortex of atomic chaos. But all was not lost, for finally a voice spoke to them from the sword. The face of King Grayskull floated in the jewel. He revealed himself to them, and congratulated She-Ra on her success. As the original wielder of her sword, he told her that she had more than fulfilled his desires for the female heroine who would use the sword to retain the honor of Grayskull. By holding onto her inner strength and wisdom, she had succeeded in many amazing feats, from the rescue of Light Hope to the recovery of her sword from the Horde, and now the rescue of her brother from a difficult trap originally designed to confuse villains. King Grayskull went on to explain that he had led the heroes, through the sword, to a dimension central to all realities. It was known as the Dimension of Chaos, for all knowledge was present within this void, and all universes throughout time and space could be clearly accessed and viewed from here. The solutions to all the problems that faced them could be found within this void, and here they could touch upon the power they needed to overcome Skeletor once and for all. The essence of time and space was at their command- and they must use it wisely.

She-Ra and Adam decided that their first step should be to regain touch with their father and The Sorceress, stranded in limbo, and tell them of their suspicions about Skeletor's real connections with Keldor. He-Man, She-Ra and Teela combined their mind power with the energy from She-Ra's sword, and from Gwildor's Cosmic Key, to reach Randor and The Sorceress.

The energies of space and time flowed past them, until eventually, the spectral forms of Randor and The Sorceress appeared before them. The heroes told them of the suspicion that Skeletor was not only connected with the disappearance of Keldor, but that he was Keldor himself. Suddenly, Randor felt everything made sense. If Skeletor really was his brother, it would make sense as to why he wanted the throne of Eternia, and the power of Grayskull, so badly. It also made sense of how Skeletor had seemed to appear at the exact time Keldor vanished, and seemed to suddenly replace Keldor in the Horde's ranks at the time. Randor decided immediately that he must confront Skeletor. He hoped that by evoking some of the family spirit within him, and reminding him of the days they grew up together, he could turn him from his evil ways. The power that the heroes possessed in the Dimension of Chaos was strong enough to allow Randor's spirit to breach the barriers between the material and spiritual dimensions. She-Ra, Teela and The Sorceress combined their powers together with that of Gwildor's Cosmic Key, to transport Randor's spirit to the material realm.

At that moment, Skeletor was just returning to Grayskull from a battle, with his demon army, having been alerted by his henchmen to the rescue of Prince Adam and the escape of She-Ra and her companions. As he returned to the throne of Grayskull, relieved to see that the Sword of Power was still in his possession, he felt the presence of Randor around him. Arming himself with his Havoc Staff, he found himself confronted by Randor's spirit. Randor informed Skeletor that he had no wish to fight him, but had come to challenge him to reveal his true self. For a second, Skeletor suspected that his true identity had been discovered- but when Randor addressed him as 'brother' he knew the former King was sadly mistaken. Randor spoke of Keldor's youth, growing up alongside himself, and encouraged him to leave his evil ways behind, retrace his steps and realize how he had been led astray. Skeletor merely scoffed at Randor in mockery, which Randor took as admission that he was indeed Keldor. Skeletor then raised his arms and summoned all the power of Grayskull, together with the power of the spirits of evil, to exorcise Randor's spirit from the castle.

Afterwards, Skeletor felt nothing but amusement. He found it laughable how Randor had got his identity wrong, but felt it was in his best interest to play along with Randor's mistake. He had always feared the discovery of his true origins because there was a chance that Keldor could be released from the timeless dimension, and may possibly be able to defeat him. Although his fear of this occurrence was no longer as strong since his acquisition of Grayskull's powers, he knew that if he led the heroes on to think he really was Keldor, they would be less likely to continue the search for his true origins and release the real Keldor. Then, when the moment came that he finally killed them, he would reveal his true identity to them all. That moment, he was convinced, would not be a long time in coming. Although Adam had been freed, he was unable to become He-Man as Skeletor still held the Sword of Power. Although She-Ra was still around, she was severely weakened now that nearly all of Grayskull's power was in the hands of evil. And whilst wreaking mass havoc over Eternia day by day, Skeletor had his henchmen rampantly scouring the castle for the Glowing Orb, which would imbue him with all the knowledge of the universe and the secrets he needed to dominate the universe himself. Once he was able to manipulate reality to bend to his will, his battle would be well and truly over.


	19. 19 Assault Of The Snake Men

**Chapter 19: Assault of the Snake Men**

In the meantime, Skeletor's rivals were panicking at the Lord of Destruction's continuing success, as he would be sure to wipe them out before long. Hordak, frustrated at the virtual loss of his Etherian Empire and his impending defeat on Eternia, decided that the Ergon was his key to success. The Ergon reportedly had the power to technologically shape reality to the holder's will, in the same way the power of Grayskull did magically. The infinite power of the Ergon, combined with Hordak's own fusion of magical and scientific powers, could be just what he needed- a balance of magic and science to swipe the power of Grayskull from Skeletor. Together with Modulok, Hordak scoured the ruins of the City of Lights to find the infinitely powerful technological device.

Prahvus, meanwhile, maintained his low profile, feeling he would stand the best chance of overcoming Skeletor if he remained subtle and attacked when Skeletor was least expecting it. So he kept quiet, to the point that many believed he had left Eternia. His prime benefit was his secret alliance with Evil-Lyn, for while feigning continued loyalty to Skeletor, she acted as a handy spy on Skeletor's actions. So while Evil-Lyn reported back to Prahvus on all Skeletor's plans, Prahvus would make the occasional minor assault on areas of Etheria, which was still highly insecure after the banishment of the Horde and could easily be conquered. Many of the remaining Horde members who had been left on the planet following Catra's retreat now allied themselves with Prahvus, seduced by his promise to lead the Horde into the victory it needed.

King Hiss, meanwhile, was set on unleashing his entire Snake Army- which he could easily do now he had the power of Serpos. He still controlled most of the Eastern Continent for himself, although the shadow of Skeletor hung permanently over all Eternia, thus limiting his freedom. Hiss had managed to gain the trust of several indigenous tribes of the Eastern Continent, promising to save them from the onslaught of Skeletor's empire. With the aid of one of the largest tribes of Pygmies, he had managed to retrieve an ancient relic which could allow him to penetrate solid magical barriers, another former possession of the Snake Priest Asp'r. The one essential thing he needed to complete this task now was the energy of Viper Tower. Together with Shokoti and all of his henchmen, he set out to make his greatest assault on the Three Towers yet, determined to banish the Masters from the towers once and for all.

As King Hiss led his army forth, She-Ra, Teela, Adam and Gwildor were just returning from the Dimension of Chaos. For their own safety, Randor and The Sorceress had been left in the Dimension of Chaos, for if they were brought back to Eternia, there was the risk that they could end up physically assassinated by the evil forces. As valuable assets to the heroic forces, they were left in the spiritual realm where they could continue to channel their energy to find the answers the Masters sought. With Gwildor's Cosmic Key now able to return the heroes to the Dimension of Chaos whenever they needed, both Randor and The Sorceress could be brought back to Eternia once the planet was safe.

With the heroes now returned to their base, a meeting of all the Masters was held in Central Tower. For the first time ever, Adam addressed his comrades in his natural form. He thanked them for the courage and heroism they had displayed over the years he had been leading them, and complimented them on how they had held on to the light and wisdom within themselves to remain alive through all the destruction.

"If we can reach this point," he told them, "I believe we can reach the end. As impossible as it may seem, we must continue to fight for the liberation of our world, and the universe. Even if Skeletor manages to gain the position of Master of the Universe, the true Masters will always be those who follow the highest wisdom of the light within." He went on to explain how he, She-Ra and Teela were now almost completely certain that Skeletor was none other than the misguided Prince Keldor. If the Masters could continue to concentrate the light within themselves, there was a chance they could reawaken the light within Keldor.

Rejuvenated by the return of their leader, the Masters began to mobilize themselves for battle. It was only moments before their next great battle arrived. King Hiss, more powerful and determined than ever, struck the towers with his Snake Army, rippling with pure savagery and ferocity brewed by their oppression under Skeletor's rule. Although the Masters had been preparing for battle, they had not expected the battle to come this quickly, and were even less prepared for the sheer ferocity of it. Kobra Khan's sleep mist, and Tung Lashor's venom, had many of the Masters unconscious within seconds, while others were turned to statues in the grip of Snake Face. She-Ra and Teela fought hard, but in their weakened state were an inadequate match, and Teela found herself constantly detached from the battle by the evil thoughts that continued to intrude upon her mind, almost urging her to fight against the Masters rather than for them. Even Light Hope was vastly overpowered by King Hiss' energy. Adam did his best to defend his comrades himself, but he was still weakened by his ordeal with Skeletor, and was down on the ground within no time. King Hiss quickly cut through to the heart of Viper Tower. With the power of Serpos, he controlled the energy of Viper Tower, and spread it out over the other two towers. The essence of balance within Central Tower was vastly being overcome by the powers of darkness. The only remainder of the power of Grayskull still in the possession of the Masters was now being absorbed by King Hiss.

Teela quickly rushed to the rescue. She summoned all her available energy and strove to keep the essence of balance intact within the heart of Central Tower. But not only was she already weakened, but she was rapidly losing control of the evil desires that constantly intruded upon her mind. Tears streamed down her face as she threw all her energy into sustaining the heroic magic of the towers, frustrated at being unable to explain this terrifying disorder that plagued her mind. She struggled to maintain the balance, but when her own soul was rapidly being eclipsed by evil, she had little hope of preventing the same thing happening to the towers. She collapsed on the ground as the scales of balance, which had remained in harmony for thousands of years, finally tipped in favor of evil. King Hiss was imbued with the great power of the Three Towers, now fully converted to his evil nature.

King Hiss' evil form rose above the Three Towers, laughing hysterically. Teela turned and looked behind her to see that She-Ra, drained of the final powers of Grayskull, had now turned back into Princess Adora once again. It was at this moment that Teela realized just how important her role was. She now possessed the only fragment of Grayskull's power in the physical world that remained good. The fate of the universe was in her hands. She had to escape, and preserve this power, before King Hiss could defeat her. She ordered the surviving Masters to retreat for their own safety. They fled the battleground and took refuge in a secret hideout guarded by Granamyr.


	20. 20 Skeletor Unveiled

**Chapter 20: Skeletor Unveiled**

In their hideout, many of the Masters seemed finally on the verge of giving up hope altogether. How could they expect to survive when even their very last source of power, weak as it had become, was now in the hands of evil? But Adam was quick to remind them of what he had said in his speech beforehand, about how the true power lay in the soul. Given that the dark could never truly eclipse the light, the balance of justice within Central Tower was now somewhere within King Hiss' dark soul, no matter how much he had manipulated it. The Masters agreed that it was best for Adam, Teela and Adora to teleport back to the Dimension of Chaos, where they could safely concentrate their powers on unleashing the secrets they needed to defeat Skeletor, without being threatened by the evil forces. The rest of the Masters would remain on Eternia to make the best possible effort to restore peace. It would be foolish to attack the evil forces head-on now that they had so much power, so they decided that they would instead patrol Eternia helping the people in need, and encouraging the ordinary citizens to fight for themselves, whilst searching for anything that could help them defeat the forces that plagued their world.

So Gwildor used the Cosmic Key to transport Teela, Adora, Adam and himself back to the Dimension of Chaos. Man-At-Arms accompanied them, desiring to stand by his daughter and his closest friends on their quest, as well as being reunited with Randor and The Sorceress.

King Hiss, meanwhile, secured his forces firmly within the walls of the Three Towers, finally belonging to him after all these centuries. He began to lead numerous attacks on the kingdoms under Skeletor's rule, while gaining the energy he needed to unleash his entire army from the Void.

Skeletor soon became aware of King Hiss' acquisition of the Three Towers, and his bolstered power. But even this caused him no fear. For as he explored the depths of Grayskull deeper and deeper, becoming more and more powerful by the moment, he knew he was coming closer to gaining the secrets of the essence of the universe, and the ability to manipulate reality to his own will.

From the Dimension of Chaos, Adam, Teela, Adora, The Sorceress, Man-At-Arms, Randor and Gwildor watched in dismay as the evil forces battled among themselves, sure to plunge the planet into fully-fledged hell. They had to act fast. Randor was hoping that they could use the energy within the Dimension of Chaos to gain touch with the spirit of his mother... also the mother of Keldor. Their mother had been the only person Keldor had ever been close to, before she died during a mental breakdown while he was still a child. She had herself been a dark, mysterious and neurotic character, self-absorbed and frequently troubled by the strange voices she claimed to hear. Although she had never been evil, she had been mysterious and seemingly unstable, and was thought to have been a major influence on the way Keldor turned out. Regaining touch with his mother could be the vital thing that Keldor needed to restore his sense of humanity.

The heroes combined all their energy together, transcending through all the veils of time and space. As the magic of The Sorceress and Teela combined with the power of Gwildor's Cosmic Key, and the mental powers of the others, they finally came upon the vision they were looking for. It was the same image of Keldor that they had seen previously within the Winds of Time at Central Tower. Only this time it was much clearer... and they could clearly see the student whom he was training with. The Sorceress observed closely the man being trained... and gasped in horror when she realized it was none other than her long-dead husband, Zendar.

The scene progressed before their eyes as they saw Zendar launch his attack on Keldor... which backfired upon him. The heroes watched in shock as they saw the image of Zendar undergo a gruesome transformation... his skin flaking away to reveal the familiar and terrifying image of the face of doom which had haunted Eternia for the last few years... Skeletor.

The Sorceress gazed transfixed upon the image in total disbelief, and a tear ran down her cheek. The heroes had been following a false trail all this time. Skeletor was not Keldor at all... but the very man whom The Sorceress had most truly loved, and missed the most, in all her life. How could this be possible? How could such a noble and dignified man as Zendar have defected to the forces of evil┘ and become such a demon as Skeletor?

Teela was equally stricken with horror at this shocking revelation. The demon against whom she had been battling for all these years, whom she had fought face-to-face and even been captured by on several occasions, was none other than her own father. Suddenly her mysterious illness was blown to new proportions of extremity. Her shock at the identity of her father was mixed with a bizarre and insane kind of pleasure... a desire to join her father and indulge in mass destruction. Almost unable to contain her increasing split personalities, Teela fell to her knees in dismay.

As difficult as it was for them to face up to this unbelievable discovery, The Sorceress, Teela and Man-At-Arms returned to Eternia, beamed to Grayskull by the Cosmic Key. The Sorceress confronted Skeletor about his true identity, staring into the hollow eye sockets where once had been the noble and honorable eyes of her lover.

Skeletor just laughed in insane triumph. He had hoped that he would be himself the one to reveal his true identity to his former lover... but just seeing the shock that the discovery had bestowed upon The Sorceress filled him with sadistic delight. Refusing to explain his 'defection' to the forces of darkness, he merely mocked The Sorceress, boasting of how he had finally obtained the power that was always meant for him, incorrectly bestowed previously upon her.

But the heroes were not the only people to feel shock at this revelation. For during their confrontation of the Lord of Destruction, Skeletor was himself taken aback to learn that he had a daughter... Teela. He was immediately struck with a sudden admiration for Teela as his offspring. This girl who had impressed him numerous times throughout the war with her incredible strength, intelligence, bravery and agility, which he had always considered remarkable for a woman, was his own daughter. In a split second he no longer viewed Teela as an enemy. He asked for her to join him in his dominion of Eternia, telling her that her skills were made to assist his genius. Her illness worsening by the moment, Teela was almost tempted to join him, which Skeletor interpreted as a paternal bond. Fearful for her allegiance, Teela teleported herself, The Sorceress and Man-At-Arms back to the Dimension of Chaos for the sake of her sanity and safety.

The heroes' main targets were now to determine the exact cause of Teela's illness before any severe damage was caused, as well as to find out exactly why Zendar had suddenly defected to evil and become Skeletor, and hopefully restore some of his humanity. Adam, Adora, Teela, Man-At-Arms and The Sorceress returned to the secret hideout of the Masters, while Gwildor and Randor remained in the Dimension of Chaos. Randor's main aim, now he had discovered that Skeletor was not his brother after all, was to find out what had really happened to Keldor. The search for Keldor was on again.

In the Masters' current hideout, within a secret cave in Darksmoke guarded by Granamyr and his dragon brothers, the heroes told their companions of Skeletor's true identity. Carlos then explained that several of the Masters had stumbled upon a mysterious temple on the Desert of Desolation, containing an inscription that seemed to foretell the birth of Skeletor. He was currently researching the temple, and as far as he could tell, it seemed to be the creation of The Nocturnals, the tribe of Sorcerers and Sorceresses who had been the first ever force of darkness to threaten Eternia, centuries ago.

At that moment, the truth behind Skeletor's origin came to Man-At-Arms in a flash. The final leader of the Nocturnals had been named Zendar the Unholy. The Sorceress' former lover had, therefore, been named after his ancestor. Skeletor was the result of a centuries-long spell concocted by the Nocturnals to create the ultimate being of darkness and destruction. And the Nocturnals had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams... for the being they had created was now a God, and was inches away from conquering the whole universe. He was the defintive being of evil, and it would require an ultimate acquisition of the essence of light and goodness to defeat him.

Teela now understood the cause of her sickness. As well as being destined to become the next Sorceress of Grayskull, she also had the blood of the Nocturnals within her, and their dark energy. Therefore, she was also destined to become the next Lady of Destruction. Her genetic heritage was battling it out within her, and she had to try her best to struggle towards her good side, and eliminate her evil side altogether. But this was difficult, as she could not avoid the natural contents of her genetic makeup. She did her best to concentrate on her good magic to isolate her evil side, but this led to a devastating consequence┘ she split into two separate beings. An evil Teela was formed, who imprisoned her good self and several of the Masters. She then imprisoned Granamyr in solid rock, then went off to join her father, Skeletor, to aid with his conquest.

The evil Teela reached Grayskull, where she declared her admiration for and loyalty to her father, and announced to his delight that she had imprisoned his enemies. Skeletor proudly took his daughter as his second-in-command, and she proceeded to help lead him towards the Glowing Orb.

Evil-Lyn, still bitter at Skeletor's refusal to share the power with her, became even more resentful of the evil Teela that had suddenly appeared, and how Skeletor was treating her with all the dignity she had desired for herself. She silently deserted Skeletor's forces and returned to Prahvus, so the two of them could plan their big attack.


	21. 21 Conquest Of The Universe

**Chapter 21: Conquest Of The Universe**

In the meantime, King Hiss, now fuelled with the power of the Three Towers, proceeded to return to the site where Snake Mountain had previously stood. The ruptures in the barriers of time and space, caused by the heroes' activities in the Dimension of Chaos, were weakening the physical plane of Eternia, and made it easier for Hiss to breach the Void. He led his Snake Men deep beneath the ground, towards the Void. He held his arms aloft and called forth the power of the Three Towers. A huge explosion racked the Void, and thousands of gruesome Snake People emerged from its depths. After all these centuries of imprisonment, the entire Snake Army was finally free. They began to march towards Grayskull to restore King Hiss' regime.

At the exact same time, Hordak was busy preparing his next big move. Whilst scavenging the ruins of the City of Lights, he and Modulok stumbled upon the body of none other than Sortech- weak and frail, but still alive, much to their surprise. It transpired that Sortech had managed to keep himself alive by attaching respiratory equipment from the machinery of the city onto his body. His intelligence still functioned within the machinery, and he was using this to protect the Ergon. Hordak viciously assaulted Sortech and stole the Ergon. Modulok, meanwhile, insisted on keeping Sortech alive, so Sortech could witness his former student triumph above him once and for all. The Ergon now in the hands of Hordak, technological chaos ensued throughout Eternia.

As Skeletor and his forces sought Grayskull for the Glowing Orb, the castle was suddenly infiltrated with Snake People. Led by King Hiss, now a colossal, demonic entity comprised of the souls of himself and Serpos, the Ophidian forces that had once dominated all Eternia had little trouble breaching the castle. Skeletor's forces were scattered as the Snake Army stormed Grayskull. Skeletor had himself been unprepared for the attack, and many of his minions lost their lives to the Snake Army. But his own power was far more difficult to contend with, and when the Snake People reached the Lord of Destruction himself, they met with a much greater obstacle.

But extra trouble was quick to strike for both evil sides. Out of the blue, an immense electrical thunderstorm racked through the castle. Hordak was using the Ergon to manipulate reality to his own will. When Skeletor realized what was happening, he immediately deserted the battle to delve deep into the shadows of Grayskull to find the Glowing Orb. There was no time to waste- he must tap into the secrets which would allow himself to control the essence of the universe in order to become its true Master.

At that moment, he received help from an unexpected source- Shokoti. Following the discovery of the Temple of the Nocturnals, she had realized the connection between Skeletor and her own cult. She had initially been brought to Eternia by the worship of the Nocturnals, and now her cult had brought about the existence of Skeletor. Despite King Hiss' power, he was still not as powerful as Skeletor, so she decided that now was the time to switch her allegiance. She offered to summon another of the remaining Nocturnals -her old assistant Lord Masque- feeling that the three of them together could harness the dark powers necessary to take over the universe. Skeletor agreed to her offer. Shokoti teleported to the Sands of Time to free her old servant, while the evil Teela used her Grayskull-bound energy to lead Skeletor towards the Glowing Orb.

As the battle raged within Grayskull, Shokoti located the prison of Lord Masque on the Sands of Time. She freed him, and together they teleported back to Grayskull, joining forces with Skeletor to bring about the universe's destruction. Skeletor, Shokoti, Lord Masque and the evil Teela came together at the center of Grayskull, where the evil Teela had unleashed the Glowing Orb. Here they were, all central figures of Eternia's greatest ever cult of darkness, finally ready to unleash the havoc it had desired for thousands of centuries, and gain ultimate dominion over the whole universe. As they combined their powers to penetrate the Glowing Orb, the greatest secrets and knowledge of the universe seeped into their minds. Skeletor found his mind overflowing with knowledge and power as he finally gained complete affinity with the essence of the universe. The power radiated from the Glowing Orb... and was projected by Shokoti, Lord Masque and the evil Teela onto their ultimate leader. Skeletor was now becoming much more than a God... he was becoming the universe itself.

The entire cosmos began to distort under Skeletor's power. Not a single planet throughout the universe was free from the effect. Destruction waged throughout the whole universe. Skeletor excised complete power over the metaphysical energy which shaped reality, distorting the whole universe and fabricating it to his own will. Eternia was thrown into ultimate chaos. All dimensional barriers became indistinct. No difference could be distinguished between past, present, future, dreams or reality- suddenly, nothing was coherent, nothing could be distinguished other than an aura of incredible evil spreading throughout the cosmos.

And imprisoned within the wreaths of magic conjured up by the evil Teela, the warriors formerly known as the Masters of the Universe were completely helpless to do anything. Now it really seemed as though it was all over for them. Adam, Adora, Teela, Man-At-Arms and The Sorceress looked at one another in sorrow as they felt the evil of Skeletor spread over them all. Even the Cosmic Key had been rendered useless by Skeletor's manipulations of reality, and lacked the power to control dimensional travel within the current chaos. All, it seemed, was lost.


	22. 22 History Reawakened

**Chapter 22: History Reawakened**

At this present moment, Carlos was the only member of the heroic forces who felt able to fight back. Unable to free his companions, he had fled to the City of Lights in the hope of finding some scientific way to excise his own kind of control over reality. His research into Eternia's history had led him to develop a remarkable theory which, if correct, could help to bring about Skeletor's downfall. He needed to gain access to the Dimension of Chaos, where only Randor currently remained. Randor was the one man he needed to help prove his theory.

The City of Lights was overflowing with chaotic electrical energy. Carlos' own devices, however, were second only to the Ergon in establishing a technological hold over the essence of reality. Carlos used his equipment to cling onto the physical plane of Eternia as best as he could without being overwhelmed by evil or confusion.

While Hordak was away attacking Grayskull with the Ergon, Modulok was overseeing the procedures at the City of Lights. The Ergon's energy was being channeled through his own machinery, which kept the Horde safe while the rest of Eternia was in chaos. Carlos' devices enabled him to breach the fortress, and he came face to face with Modulok.

Modulok was just about to launch an attack on Carlos, but Carlos called a halt and addressed him as honestly as he could. He knew that Modulok's true desire had always been nothing more innocent that to prove himself as a great scientist, and he had been led to follow the ways of evil in the first place by others' rejection of his fanatical methodologies. Carlos confessed that he had always had an admiration for Modulok's genius in spite of the many times they had clashed against one another in combat. Modulok said that he had respected Carlos likewise, but that the two of them were nevertheless natural enemies. Carlos explained that his aim was not to convince Modulok to defect from the forces of darkness, but merely to help save the universe from Skeletor's evil. Modulok had always despised Skeletor because of the way he had treated him during his time in his service. And as powerful as the Ergon was, no matter how well it allowed Hordak to perform in the battle, Skeletor was rapidly conquering the universe. At that moment they could feel Skeletor's presence and hear his laughter echo in their ears.

The frail Sortech spoke up from the back of the room, and encouraged Modulok to aid Carlos, reminding him of the reason why he had accepted him as a student in the first place, impressed by his immense intelligence before he had been led astray. He explained that Modulok would forever be hailed as a great scientist and true savior if he helped Carlos at this crucial moment. Touched by the words of his former friend and mentor, Modulok agreed. He attached Carlos' devices to the machinery that channeled the Ergon's power, and Carlos was beamed to the Dimension of Chaos.

Within the Dimension of Chaos, Carlos encountered Randor. Randor was aware of Skeletor's victory, as the Dimension of Chaos was currently infiltrated by Skeletor's presence now that the Overlord of Evil was becoming the universe itself. Randor was desperately trying to channel his energy towards finding Keldor and helping save the planet he formerly ruled, but his efforts were in vain due to the overwhelming spread of Skeletor's power.

Carlos explained his theory to Randor. His studies of Ancient Eternia had drawn him to the mysterious origins and disappearance of He-Ro's sidekick and mentor, Eldor. Eldor had initially been rescued by He-Ro from a timeless dimension, suffering from amnesia but his mind overflowing with great knowledge and wisdom that had aged him beyond his years. He had never been sure of his birth name, but from what he could remember, he had thought it may have been Eldor, hence why he had used that name. And after the original defeat of the Snake Men, Eldor had simply vanished without explanation. Carlos had noticed strange parallels between the case of Eldor and that of Keldor. Keldor had been banished by Skeletor into a timeless dimension... with his memory drained. And studying paintings of Eldor, Carlos had noticed an uncanny resemblance between Eternia's old hero, and Randor's fallen brother...

Randor felt a rush of ecstasy upon hearing Carlos' theory. He had to locate his brother right now- but he knew he was not powerful enough to do so under Skeletor's presence. But Carlos revealed that his own mental powers and equipment were more than enough to resist Skeletor's power as they breached the dimensions of time. So Randor and Carlos channeled their mental energy together with that of Carlos' devices to reach through time and space... and soon, before their eyes, they saw the figure of Eldor, wandering the Fertile Plains as he relaxed from the defeat of the Snake Army. Recognizing his brother immediately, Randor stepped forth and greeted him.

"Congratulations on your victory... my brother" he said.

Eldor blinked his eyes, and his memory began to flood back. "Randor?" he muttered.

"Keldor." Randor stated triumphantly, and the two brothers embraced, finally reunited after years apart.

Keldor then regained his memory of his time on the side of darkness, and the destruction he had caused on Eternia. He was overwhelmed by guilt, but Randor assured him that history had already forgiven him- his experiences in the timeless dimension, and fighting aside He-Ro in the past, had restored his humanity and led him to redemption. Randor then explained the danger that Eternia was currently experiencing. Keldor was shocked to learn that his former student Zendar, now Skeletor, had become so powerful. He immediately joined Randor, and Carlos used his machinery to beam them back to present-day Eternia.

The three heroes journeyed towards Grayskull. As Skeletor reveled in his triumph, he was suddenly interrupted by a call of "Your victory is all in vain... Zendar." He looked up to see the form of Keldor, the very man whose return he had feared for all these years. In shock, he was distracted from his affinity with the universe, and was struck by fear that this man may be able to defeat him. But his confidence quickly returned. He remembered just how powerful he was, and scoffed at Keldor in mockery. But Keldor looked back, unafraid, and stated, "You may be more powerful than myself, Skeletor... but you cling too heavily to material glory. In terms of the mind... I am thousands of times more powerful than yourself."

With that, he took advantage of Skeletor's distraction to awaken the spirit of He-Ro within the castle. Skeletor took a step back, in shock at the sudden presence of the legendary most powerful wizard in the universe. He-Ro raised his arms, and reabsorbed a portion of Grayskull's power. Skeletor quickly set about summoning the powers of darkness within him to strike back at He-Ro, but he was too late- He-Ro and Eldor teleported through to the battlegrounds of Grayskull to deal with their old enemy, King Hiss.

The battle between the Snake Army, the Horde and Skeletor's own minions was raging through the corridors of Grayskull, many warriors becoming lost in the vortex of confusion. But despite the three forces of evil battling their way through the castle, there was already some hope for the forces of goodness. In the midst of the chaos that engulfed Eternia, the Reptons had finally emerged from their underground kingdom for the first time in centuries, intending to help save the universe by bringing their ancient deity, The Goddess, to Eternia to reinforce the harmony between mankind and nature. Positioning themselves on a dimensional plane, somewhere between Eternia and the Whispering Woods, they had resurrected The Goddess, who was now ready to do battle with her eternal foe, Serpos, now merged with King Hiss. Hiss' army was overwhelmed by the mere presence of The Goddess, while as she weakened his force, He-Ro proceeded to fight him to the death. He issued a challenge to his old enemy, proposing that they repeat their battle of centuries ago which almost drove Hiss to redemption.

The halls of Grayskull rang with the sound of battle as the most powerful wizard in the universe clashed for the first time in centuries with the demonic leader of the Snake Men. While King Hiss was extremely powerful, with the magic of Serpos and the Three Towers at his command, he was less than a match for the heroic powers of He-Ro and The Goddess. As he began to weaken, noticing his forces being scattered across the chambers, many taken prisoner by Keldor's magic and the Repton warriors, he desperately teleported back to the Three Towers to latch back onto the ultimate energy within Central Tower. He-Ro and The Goddess were quick to follow. Keldor used his magic to free the spirits of the Elders of Eternia from within Grayskull. Keclar and the other Elders, having been nothing more than static ghosts of consciousness since Skeletor's initial victory, were finally free, and set about helping Keldor overcome the Snake Army as they had done centuries ago. While the Elders dealt with the army, He-Ro, The Goddess and the Reptons teleported to the Three Towers to finish off the God-King of the Snake People.

When they reached the Towers, Hiss was stood within the heart of Central Tower, summoning all its energy. He grew to his colossal form, towering above the heroes, his seven gruesome snake heads spitting venom down on them. But He-Ro confidently stepped forth, and reminded Hiss that the magic of Central Tower epitomized the ultimate balance between the light and the dark. And as the old proverb stated, _"The dark can embrace the light, but can never eclipse it"_. King Hiss' evil and savagery had blocked out his awareness of the light┘ but having absorbed all the energy of the Towers, the light was within him nevertheless, and the ultimate power of balance led at heart to an ultimate feeling of affinity with the universe and the essence of good. As Hiss stopped to consider He-Ro's words, he suddenly found himself overwhelmed by the power of the light. The affinity he suddenly felt was so strong that it unleashed none other than Light Hope from his prison, who looked down upon Hiss, advising him to renounce his evil ways and achieve redemption. The power of the light was so strong that it was overcoming not only the soul of Hiss, but that of Serpos as well. Hiss was enthralled by an intense feeling of purification of the soul which he could not stand. He struggled against the feelings of remorse for his evil ways that seeped into his mind, determined to block them out and hold onto his savagery. But he was heavily weakened, and was overcome by the combined powers of He-Ro, The Goddess and Light Hope. The souls of King Hiss and Serpos were separated once more, and Serpos manifested within the air as Hiss shrank to a weak, feeble figure on the ground. Serpos took one look at The Goddess. Finally overwhelmed completely by her goodness, Serpos dissipated into thin air, reduced to nothingness. Hiss attempted to flee, but was no match for He-Ro's powers, which beamed him out of the physical world. He was sucked into a deep metaphysical chasm which would imprison him eternally in the timeless dimension, his evil soul finally reduced to a pitiful wreck by the power of Grayskull. And The Three Towers flowed with intense heroic power as their energy flooded back.

He-Ro returned to Castle Grayskull, where he triumphantly announced that the Snake People's leader -and their God- had been defeated for good. This revelation alone was enough to take most of the Snake People out of the fight. With no King or God to fight for, many of them allowed themselves to be taken prisoner, while others committed suicide by drinking their own poison. And the few that did remain to fight were quickly overcome by the Elders. The threat of the Snake Army had finally been eliminated altogether.


	23. 23 The Heroine Arises

**Chapter 23: The Heroine Arises**

Following the defeat of the Snake Army, Hordak took advantage of their defeat to increase his force, with the power of the Ergon. He directed its immense technological power towards He-Ro, imprisoning him within a field of crackling energy. Now Skeletor was all that stood in the way of Hordak and the universe.

However, the return of the Elders, and the restoration of a portion of Grayskull's power to the side of good, soon made its impact upon the imprisoned heroes. In the Masters' hideout in Darksmoke, the Sword of Protection, which had appeared useless, began to glow. It floated into mid-air, and placed itself in the hand of the imprisoned Adora. The voice of King Grayskull began to speak to her from the jewel.

King Grayskull informed Adora of the defeat of the Snake Army, and the power that had been restored to the forces of good through the return of He-Ro and the freedom of the Three Towers. Now it was her chance to bring the essence of feminine power back into the battle to deal with Hordak and Skeletor.

Adora held her sword aloft, and transformed, once again, into She-Ra. She freed her comrades, and the rest of the imprisoned Masters. Together, She-Ra, Adam, Teela and The Sorceress rushed to Grayskull, while Man-At-Arms led the remaining Masters across Eternia to deal with the scattered evil forces, and Carlos led the Rebellion to the City of Lights to break the transmission of the Ergon's power. Chaos still swept throughout the planet, and many remained engulfed by confusion, but the heroes were blessed with the power of the light, which enabled them to make sense of the chaos and fight amidst it for justice.

Once within Grayskull, She-Ra struck up behind Hordak just as he dueled with the Elders, the Ergon at his command. He turned to face his most hated foe. He mocked her for her weakness in comparison to his own, and reminded her of the days she had served him, insisting that she rejoin him to lead the universe into glory. She retaliated, declaring that while he had taught her some good things in her childhood despite the evil life he bestowed upon her, he was nothing more than a lost soul┘ hence his dependence on technology and material extremes. A huge battle began between them, as the power of the Ergon clashed against that of the Sword of Protection. As the power of technology clashed with the essence of magic, She-Ra began to drain Hordak's power through the sword, restoring the magic of Grayskull to her being, and proving the essential superiority of magic over technology.

Realizing he was fighting a losing battle, Hordak transformed into rocket mode and shot off to the City of Lights to gain extra backup for his power. He entered the Horde's fortress to re-access the backup machinery, but was shocked at what he found. Many of his minions were scattered around the fortress, either dead or unconscious, while others were held captive by the escaped Rebel Warriors. And the machinery was no longer functioning. Furious, Hordak demanded to know Modulok's whereabouts.

Modulok then answered his call -appearing, to Hordak's utmost surprise, alongside Carlos, and also Sortech, who now appeared muscular and strong, restored to his former self. Modulok explained that Carlos and Sortech had convinced him to renounce his allegiance to the Horde. He had seen the error of his ways, and now realized that he had abused the wonders of science to attain goals of corruption. Given that the spiritual plane was stronger and more potent than the material plane, and magic remained the fuel of technology, a technology-driven world would only be a world of disorder and chaos. While the Horde continued to rely on technology, they had no chance of overcoming the magical powers of either the Masters or Skeletor. Hordak angrily declared that he had always intended for magic and science to be balanced within the Horde's regime to excise control over reality. But observing all the failed machinery around him, Hordak realized he had leaned too close to the technological side of the scale.

But he remembered that he had originally been trained as a sorcerer before turning to science, and he still had the magic of Horde Prime within him. He was still essentially a God of both magic and science. He called upon his magic powers, and rose through the roof of the fortress, scattering the Rebellion members like flies.

He began to fire beams of magic rapidly at all those beneath him. But out of the blue, Prahvus appeared, with Evil-Lyn at his side, leading his forces into battle. They encouraged the Rebellion members to join them in fighting against Hordak and his minions, just as She-Ra flew gracefully towards Hordak atop Swift Wind. She fought Hordak with the Honor of Grayskull at her command. Enough of Grayskull's power had been restored to her being for her to overpower the magic of Hordak. With the energy of Light Hope behind her, she blasted Hordak with the intense force of light. Hordak began to weaken, and he lost his connection to the deity. Hordak and Horde Prime were separated once again. Prime, finally free, looked down on his former student in fury, set on enacting revenge on him for claiming his own soul. In desperation, Hordak retreated back into the fortress and attempted to use the Ergon on all his opposition, but its effects had been cancelled out by Sortech, and its remaining power was strictly limited. She-Ra tried to intice Hordak to surrender, but he would not allow himself to be overcome by goodness. He rapidly banged at the keys of the nearest machinery in the hope of uncovering a means of defense. But the machinery was now damaged, and the effect backfired on Hordak. A massive explosion racked the laboratory, destroying all the machinery... and Hordak himself. The ruthless leader of the Evil Horde was no more.

Horde Prime was set to make his own attempt on Eternia now. But just as She-Ra thought she was too exhausted to fight back against the deity, a light emitted from her sword. It hovered in mid-air, then touched the ground, where it began to spread, and formed itself into the figure of King Grayskull, back to defend his planet once again from the great God of evil. He congratulated She-Ra on her victory and her fulfillment of his desires for the second recipient of his sword. She gladly passed the Sword of Protection back to its original wielder, and King Grayskull became enlocked in combat with Horde Prime- receiving a surprise backup on his side from Prahvus and Evil-Lyn. The great God of evil had met his match.


	24. 24 Skeletor Master Of The Universe

**Chapter 24: Skeletor- Master of the Universe**

Although King Grayskull dominated the conflict with his ancient foe, the rest of Eternia remained in the grip of Skeletor. Even though the Elders were free, and some of Grayskull's power had been restored to the Masters, Skeletor still had the secrets of the universe. While his mind was imbued with the greatest secrets ever known to humanity, he had almost nothing to fear. The essence of the universe remained at his command. And while his former greatest foe He-Man was now nothing more than an ordinary, weakened mortal, his two greatest rivals from the side of darkness had been conveniently eliminated. The universe was succumbing to his command.

After the chaos and confusion, as Skeletor reshaped and remoulded the universe to his desires, things finally started to become clear. But all was far from pleasant. Throughout Eternia, everything began to distort and change under Skeletor's power. Blooming forests withered and died within seconds. Savage demons roamed the land. Volcanoes erupted, spewing molten lava everywhere. Fire and brimstone rained down from the blood-red skies. The seas boiled with intense heat. Planetquakes tore apart the land. Thousands of humans, tormented by the mass destruction and chaos, sacrificed their souls and allowed themselves to perish in the mayhem. The evil spirits of the Black Continent spread out across the whole of Eternia. The entire planet was engulfed by mass hysteria.

But not only Eternia felt the effect. Throughout the universe, as the essence of reality was remoulded to Skeletor's desires, an immense aura of evil was felt by thousands of living beings as far as a billion light years from Eternia. Tens of thousands of planets became enshrouded in a veil of darkness. And above all the darkness, throughout the ears of over ten zillion living organisms, echoed the diabolical and maniacal laugh of Skeletor, Master of the Universe.

The gruesome image of Skeletor appeared all over Eternia as the universe's new leader issued a proclamation to all his subjects. Throughout the planet, people fell to their knees at the terrifying image.

"People of Eternia... the time has come to kneel before your master. The battles are over, the war is won. The universe is now in the grip of its rightful ruler... I, Skeletor, Lord of Destruction. I who succeeded where countless others failed. I am not only ruler of the cosmos... I _am_ the cosmos. I am undefeatable... for I control all. Let the new era begin. The eternal age of Skeletor... Master of the Universe and Leader of all living beings! Pledge yourselves to your Master... or perish in unforgettable torture!"

With that, he sent his warriors out all over Eternia to enslave the entire population. The remaining Masters and Rebellion members were engulfed in battle, but Skeletor's forces had been immensely boosted in power by the victory of their leader. Many of the defenders of Eternia fought and breathed their last as the battle raged across the planet.

Skeletor's presence dominated the whole of Castle Grayskull. Within the walls of the former fortress of good, even the greatest of Eternia's heroes had been rendered helpless. Prince Adam, still unable to reach his sword, was being held under the heavy magical grip of the evil Teela- who also dominated both her heroic self, and her mother The Sorceress. He-Ro and Keldor, meanwhile, after being weakened by the blasts of energy from the Ergon, were desperately struggling against the evil magic that swept through the castle.

Pleased at seeing so many of his enemies helpless before him, Skeletor was ready to enslave them all. But all of a sudden, a huge burst of bright light erupted within the castle chamber, and Evil-Lyn stepped out, accompanied by Prahvus. Both of them, their confidence boosted after helping King Grayskull banish Horde Prime to his homeworld, had been using their immense powers to feed off the evil spectral energy spreading throughout Eternia. Now they were ready to challenge Skeletor.

Evil-Lyn used her magic to free Keldor from Skeletor's energy field. The man he had always feared returning would surely be the perfect person to aid her in her defeat of Skeletor. But since she was as yet unaware of Keldor's redemption, she failed to realize that Keldor was far too noble to help her gain the power for the purposes of evil. Keldor helped Evil-Lyn and Prahvus in going after the Glowing Orb and penetrating its secrets. The orb was being guarded by Shokoti and Lord Masque, and after a magical duel, Keldor managed to elevate it from their clutches. Evil-Lyn reached forth to penetrate the Glowing Orb... but with its power now controlled by Skeletor, as Evil-Lyn touched upon it, she received an immense shock, overwhelmed by the Lord of Destruction's energy. Skeletor stood above her and laughed at her in mockery, scoffing at her pathetic hopes of obtaining his power. Keldor, however, was unaffected, for having been privy to many of the secrets of the universe himself during his time as Eldor, he was affiliated with the light and sense of justice at the heart of it all. As the secrets flowed from the orb into Evil-Lyn's mind, Keldor spoke out the words of wisdom, encouraging her to see the light and use the power for the purposes of good. Evil-Lyn finally saw how Skeletor was abusing the essence of reality, and overwhelmed by a mixture of shock and realization, she collapsed from the pressure. Prahvus, meanwhile, unable to harness the power for himself, vanished in a burst of light, engulfed by Skeletor's power.

Desperately, Evil-Lyn managed to pull herself to her feet, determined to take action to put right the situation. She ran frantically through the corridors of Grayskull, until she reached the Window of the Ancients. Traversing her magic towards it, she made contact with Zodac. Following Skeletor's conquest of the universe, Zodac and the Cosmic Enforcers had, for the first time in history, found themselves in the grip of a power seemingly stronger than themselves, as the scales of balance had tipped in favor of the dark side. Evil-Lyn offered her help. Finally using her magic for heroic purposes, Evil-Lyn linked her power with that of Zodac, bolstering his strength and bringing him back into the physical realm.

Zodac stepped out from the Window of the Ancients, and thanked Evil-Lyn for her assistance. He declared that now that herself, formerly one of the greatest evil beings on the planet, had finally seen the light and helped the side of good, the scales of balance had received a significant boost, lifting them further in the favor of the light. If the forces of good were to win, Evil-Lyn would be hailed as a heroine. Zodac immediately took action, and left the chamber to make the crucial step towards saving the universe.

Going through to the chamber in which Adam, Teela and The Sorceress were held in the clutches of the evil Teela, Zodac shot a beam of light towards the beautiful but vicious aggressor, separating her from her victims. At that moment, She-Ra, Carlos and Man-At-Arms showed up with several of the remaining defenders. Addressing them all, Zodac declared that the time to retaliate was now. The power of the light was within them all, and even if they were to die in their attempt to save the universe, the light from their souls would live on.

"But Skeletor has power over everything," said Teela, "how can we expect to win when he has become the universe itself?"

"Skeletor's affinity with the universe could itself prove to be his downfall... if challenged by a being who possesses strength of goodness and light equal to Skeletor's evil."

"So are you saying we should take on his warriors while you challenge Skeletor himself?"

"I shall not challenge Skeletor," answered Zodac, "For not only have I myself been weakened, but it remains my duty to act only when I am severely needed." He stepped towards Adam, and looked upon the Prince, whose body was covered in cuts and bruises from all the abuse he had received. "You shall face Skeletor in the ultimate battle," he told him, "the courage, strength and ultimate power is within yourself."

Adam looked at Zodac in surprise. "B-but I can no longer become He-Man... and I've been weakened badly enough as it is!" he looked down at his battered body.

"Prince Adam... you are not the chosen one for no good reason. Even after six years of heroism, you underestimate your true power. You know what must be done. Remember... the dark is merely a passageway to the light, and only tranquility can be found at the heart of reality."

In a split second, all the lessons Adam had learned throughout his experiences as defender of Eternia flooded back to his mind. He must act upon them... right now.


	25. 25 Sword Against Staff

**Chapter 25: Sword Against Staff**

Prince Adam immediately ran through the corridors of Castle Grayskull in determination. Behind him, Zodac vanished into thin air, and the battle erupted once again between his heroic companions and Skeletor's demonic henchmen. He ran and he ran, as fast as he could, until he came upon Skeletor's chamber. The Lord of Destruction towered above him, more insane and monstrous than ever. Shokoti and Lord Masque were behind him, engaged in a battle with Keldor and the released He-Ro. The Glowing Orb hovered in the air at the top of the chamber.

With all his inner strength, Adam challenged the Overlord of Evil to a final battle. Skeletor erupted into laughter at the proposal. How could this weak, feeble being before him, weakened and battered as he was, possess even the merest hopes of beating him? Nevertheless, amused at the prospects of defeating his most hated enemy in this manner, he accepted the challenge.

"Well, you're not the man you used to be, Adam... but I will gladly duel with you for the sake of reliving old memories the way they should have been. Let this be our final battle!"

Skeletor seemed to instantaneously radiate with immense, crackling beams of energy, and the entire chamber around them was soon engulfed in swirling metaphysical chaos. The two arch enemies were detached from the material world, in realms of pure power and energy. But instead of sword against staff, this battle consisted purely of fists and flesh┘ although the Havoc Staff still made its cameos in the battle as Skeletor materialized it within his hands, for the sake of blasting his mortal adversary with immense pain.

Adam's body was racked with the most intense and unbearable pain he had ever experienced. For several seconds he doubted his own confidence; could he really hope to defeat this evil tyrant now of all times? But he had made the challenge, and could not afford to abandon his hope. If the pain continued to overwhelm him, he could easily drop dead within the next few moments. He had to concentrate on his inner psychological strength, for no matter how much the opposite may seem true, the mind was always more powerful than the body...

The essence of goodness channeled through his being, his physical strength suddenly seemed boosted, and he shot up with a searing uppercut across Skeletor's chest. Although the Lord of Destruction felt little pain, he took a step back in shock, surprised at how much strength was left in this battered mortal.

"You may be physically entwined with the universe..." said Adam, "but I am mentally entwined... and while I remain so... I will always hold on... to the true... power!"

He concentrated on his psychological energy, and beamed a mental wave of heroic power towards Skeletor's mind. The Lord of Destruction, alienated as he was from all heroic energy, received a shock from this wave and stumbled back.

Adam lifted his arms, relaxing them briefly after channeling his power. And in a split second, a beam of light manifested within his right hand, and formed into the solid shape of the Sword of Power.

Skeletor scoffed at his opponent, and remarked "That thing is useless... now that the power of Grayskull is mine, you can no longer absorb it."

Prince Adam shook his head. "Not all of it is yours... at least a small portion has always escaped your grasp... and that is the portion that contains the light!"

He held the sword above his head, and for the first time in many moons, he shouted:

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL... I HAVE THE POWER!"

The burst of energy erupted from the sword just as it had always done in the past, showering down on the Prince and transforming him -finally- back into the form of He-Man, mightiest man in the universe.

He-Man stood before Skeletor, untouched and unwounded, his strength almost fully restored.

"Now, Skeletor..." declared He-Man, "here is your chance to redeem yourself. You were born to cause destruction... you have known nothing else. Now is your chance to see the light at the heart of all matter... that which shines through even the darkest of souls."

Laughing in mockery, Skeletor blasted He-Man with a bolt from his fingertips, replying "Yes... the light that illuminates my eternal greatness!"

Finally, sword clashed against staff once again as the two definitive embodiments of good and evil locked themselves in combat, in the ultimate battle for the universe.

Although deterred slightly by his enemy's miraculous reabsorption of his incredible power, Skeletor reminded himself that he was a God... and he still had power over all. Summoning all the evil powers within his being, he attempted to overcome He-Man with pure mental force, overwhelming his enemy with mental powers of darkness just as his enemy had previously done with such powers of goodness. He-Man dropped to his knees, and struggled on the ground against the power.

Clutching his head, He-Man summoned all his strength to hold onto the essence of the light within him. No matter how hard Skeletor tried, he could not manage to manipulate He-Man's mind... until, weakened, he took a step back and gasped for breath frantically.

"How do you avoid succumbing to my force... I am a God... I am the Universe... it does not make sense!"

He-Man stood before him, and brandished his sword. "The mind is the most powerful weapon of all," he declared, "more powerful even than this sword."

"But I am Master of the Universe... I have the most powerful mind of all!"

"The power of the light overcomes the shadows of the dark... the most powerful mind is one that follows the ways of good!"

His sword began to shimmer with mystical heroic energy. He-Man channeled the essence of goodness from his body through his sword, and fired an enormous burst of light from the sword at Skeletor. Skeletor stumbled back in pain.

"Now is your chance, Skeletor!" declared He-Man. "Redeem yourself and follow the light!"

"Never!" screamed the Lord of Destruction, "I am the darkness in all matter!"

Summoning all his power in the entire universe, he channeled it all towards He-Man, determined to overcome his hated foe once and for all. Engulfed by the tremendous waves of evil energy, He-Man was almost paralyzed... but he concentrated on all his mind power, traversing it through his sword to hold against Skeletor... his sword shimmered with immense light...

"At the heart of all matter," he spoke, "lies the essence of good!"

He arose, and a burst of light erupted from his sword, careening towards Skeletor and engulfing his entire form. The powers of truth and justice spread throughout Skeletor's body, wracking his evil mind with tremendous pain. A blinding flash of light burst out between the two great foes, obscuring He-Man's vision entirely. A colossal, ear-splitting and death-defying scream rang out, and a huge explosion blasted through the eardrums of He-Man... and of the entire universe.

Throughout all of Eternia, the explosion shook the ground and vibrated the entire planet. Mountains collapsed, and dust and ash rained down from the skies. Barely a single being throughout the whole planet stood on their feet, shaken to the ground by the incredible force, almost deafened by the colossal sound.

The Eternians lay on the ground, gasping for breath and gazing up at the skies above them. Clouds of black vapor and acid were spewing gently into the dark, evil-ridden skies... and slowly, they dissipated, revealing the gleam of a clear, blue sky, and the long-absent, resplendent rays of the Red Sun of Eternia.

Amidst a mass of shattered debris, and mangled bodies, She-Ra, Teela, The Sorceress and Man-At-Arms drew themselves to their feet, and headed towards the distant silhouette of Castle Grayskull, from where the explosion had seemed to have originated. What had become of their defender? Had he survived the explosion?

Within moments, they reached the castle- where they saw He-Man standing in triumph at the very top of the great and ancient edifice, raising his sword up to the sky, the gleam of the Red Sun reflecting from the blade of the Sword of Power. Above him, a swirling cloud of dark energy and cosmic matter drifted into the skies, dissipating in the rays of the sun until it had faded into nothingness. Skeletor, the God of Destruction and the greatest evil the universe had ever known, was no more.

In a voice that rang with heroic nobility, He-Man called out "By the Power of Grayskull... let the force of light return!" Beams of light emitted from his sword, and spread out across the skies throughout the whole of Eternia. Forests bloomed, animals ran freely through the countryside, sentiments of hope and glory spread through the air. Peace reigned over Eternia once more. And the vibes of peace spread over the whole universe... causing each and every heart to feel, at that moment, a sense of warm relief and content. The forces of good had achieved their ultimate victory over evil... and all at the hands of He-Man, Most Powerful Man in the Universe.

A great celebration spread throughout Eternia. The planet was exhausted and devastated by the long and chaotic war, undoubtedly the greatest war the universe had ever faced. But among the Eternians, there was a huge sense of relief that this incredible, hellish evil threat, greater than even the most pessimistic of Eternians would have dared to imagine, had actually been defeated. And He-Man, the man who had single-handedly put an end to this evil, was hailed throughout Eternia as the greatest hero the universe had ever known.

The magic of Grayskull finally returned to its original heroic state, and once again settled within the castle. The spirits of the Elders came forth, together with The Goddess, He-Ro and King Grayskull, to congratulate He-Man on the ultimate victory of good over evil. The ultimate showdown between the two sides, prophesized thousands of years ago by the great deities of the universe, had been won by the forces of good.

The victory of the Masters of the Universe was celebrated at Grayskull with the double marriage of both of Eternia's greatest saviors. He-Man was finally wed to Teela, now the new Sorceress of Grayskull. Having overcome her evil duplicate self at the end of the war, she now felt stronger and more purified in her soul than ever before. Now truly immortal, and having survived the war under enormous strain, she was perfectly well-set to be the new guardian of the mystic castle. She-Ra, meanwhile, married her pirate lover, Sea Hawk, himself a great hero for having defended Etheria as it had itself felt the onslaught of Skeletor's victory. The celebration was overseen by not only Zodac, but all of the Comic Enforcers. The former Council of the Wise, who had founded Eternia's infinite magic centuries ago, were overjoyed at how their philosophies and practices had enabled humankind to survive so many centuries on from their establishment. And the defeat of Skeletor represented the ultimate defeat of their ancient adversaries The Nocturnals. It was the greatest celebration Eternia had ever seen, with all the planet's great saviors throughout history present at the ceremony.

At this moment, barely any trace of evil remained on the planet. Even the Black Continent was no longer such, for the spirits of evil had been banished from the planet altogether with the vibes of peace resulting from He-Man's victory. That dark and dismal stretch of land saw the gleam of sunlight for the first time in centuries, shining over the sets of ruins that had once been Snake Mountain and the Fright Zone. Many of Skeletor's surviving warriors had been taken prisoner in the final conflict, and escorted to Prison Star for life imprisonment. Others had fled from Eternia altogether.

King Randor had suffered a fatal injury during the final battle for Eternia, and died shortly after, but had lived to see his brother Keldor achieve redemption, and his son and daughter become true heroes. He-Man and Teela were crowned King and Queen of Eternia, and would rule the planet from Grayskull. The Sorceress retained her powers and was promoted to a deity by the Elders. But although her natural duty at this moment was to leave Eternia to watch over the cosmos, the Elders granted her freedom in this time of restored peace, permitting her to live the quiet and boundless life for which she had yearned throughout her difficult years as Guardian of Grayskull. She chose, therefore, to live in the tranquil environment of Eternia's Southern Continent, aside her new lover, Man-At-Arms. Duncan had received many severe, crippling injuries in the war, and could no longer fight or walk great distances. But he had served as a warrior for well beyond his years, to amazing effect, and was now ready to spend his old age in peace.

One of the few members of Skeletor's forces to remain on Eternia was Evil-Lyn -although she now preferred to be called simply Evelyn, as in her previous life. She was herself being hailed as a heroine by the warriors of Eternia, for having had the courage and psychological strength to redeem herself and see the light through the darkness, thus aiding the Eternians in their final victory. But she was overcome with severe guilt over her past, so she decided to retreat to a solitary life in the peaceful tropical environment of the Golden Isles. But she would not go alone- with her was her lover, Tri-Clops, who had himself found the strength to move beyond the corruptions of evil, and had gladly thrown away all the riches he had obtained throughout his life of crime. Having finally realized the bond of trust between them, the two former minions of evil were now ready to begin their journey of life anew, rejuvenating themselves together in the Golden Isles.

She-Ra, meanwhile, was offered the crown of Etheria, now that Glimmer and Carlos were ready to set about restoring peace to their world. But She-Ra had lived a lifetime of war ever since her youth in the service of the Horde, and declined the offer, choosing instead to opt for a quiet and humble life on the seas of Etheria with Sea Hawk. Glimmer herself took the crown of Etheria, to the pleasure of many of her citizens, who regarded her as a great heroine for the many things she had done to help restore peace to their world ever since she was merely a girl. Eternia and Etheria were bound together in harmony, and their rulers vowed to devote their lives to restoring peace to the war-ravaged worlds.

All the surviving members of the Masters and the Rebellion were hailed as saviors. Granamyr, meanwhile, declared that for the first time in thousands of years, he finally felt optimistic about the future of the human race. Convinced that He-Man would restore full peace and tranquility to the minds of humans, eliminating greed and corruption altogether, he signed a peace treaty with He-Man and pronounced him an eternal ally of the dragons of Darksmoke. He then flapped his wings, and flew off in the direction of his kingdom, to continue his rule over Darksmoke for at least another few thousand years.

Following the celebrations, as She-Ra and the Rebellion returned to Etheria, and the Masters set about rebuilding their individual lives, the rulers of both Eternia and Etheria set about restoring the lifestyles and cultures of the people on their worlds. Help was immediately given to the people who had been made homeless, or led to suffer, during the wars. Reconstruction work began on the beautiful cities that had been destroyed by the evil forces, with plans to convert them into even more majestic and beautiful places than before. Following the devastation caused by the war, this was to prove an enormous and difficult task for both worlds- but Eternia and Etheria worked together in unison, and within a decade, both planets were flourishing once again.


	26. 26 The Battle for Primus

**Chapter 26: The Battle for Primus**

He-Man -or King Adam, as he was now known- lived happily alongside Queen Teela within Grayskull, and she bore him a son, whom they named Dare. But despite their peaceful lifestyle, He-Man was often troubled by bad dreams -dreams of Skeletor returning, and himself becoming absorbed again in a life of permanent battle. Although Teela assured him that these kinds of dreams would come naturally to someone such as himself, given his years of war, He-Man was severely troubled by an ancient prophecy he had found in the Grayskull Library, which stated that _"The final battle between the ultimate warriors of good and evil shall take place far into the future, when all material development has reached its utmost peak, thus leading to the penultimate clash between the two forces"._ This prophecy did not seem to fully match his final battle with Skeletor. It carried the implication that their final battle would take place in a future world dominated by technology. Teela reminded him that his final battle with Skeletor had taken place in a realm at the center of all dimensions, past and future, so it therefore matched the description in the prophecy. But He-Man remained unsure, for he felt it certainly made sense that good and evil could be pushed into a great showdown within a technologized society overrun by material value. And now that he was repeatedly haunted by dreams of battling Skeletor amidst a cityscape of machinic hell, he became increasingly concerned and kept on his guard.

He was right to do so. For although Eternia now lived in peace, the entity that was Skeletor was not dead. Since he had become a God, there was no way that he could be properly killed. He still existed, but no longer in physical form- rather as a swirling beam of dark, metaphysical energy, only barely conscious after his defeat. As he diffused past Infinita, aside Horde World, the evil energy around that sector of the universe began to reawaken his consciousness. Memories of who he was, and his final battle, seeped into his mind. And as the pieces fell together┘ so did the plan for his comeback, and his second conquest of the universe.

It had seemed apparent from his final defeat at the hands of He-Man that his hold over the universe had been severed due to the force of light being in some way inherent to the essence of matter, thus making universal harmony the natural way of life. He had lost the war, it seemed, by tampering too heavily with nature. Yet he could not accept these ridiculous notions, however true they might be. Throughout his life, aside him he had seen nothing but feeble-mindedness and cowardice in all those around him. He was truly superior to them, and it was his duty to achieve dominance over all and put the universe right. He concluded that there was some flaw in the universe's construction that led people into blind illusions of peace and equality. It was his task to alter the essential chemistry of the cosmos, so that natural selection and survival of the fittest would prevail over all. His best way of reaching this target, he decided, was through the means of technology. He required a weak, technology-driven world on which to excise his power, so that he could use advanced materialism to block out the force of the light, and enforce natural hierarchy. In such a society, he could easily win the favor of the fearful denizens, and once he had as much technological power as he had magical power, he could subtly seize the power of the universe and remould its very essence to his own desires.

He decided that the perfect world for him to inhabit would be the planet of Denebria. This war-ravaged, insecure planet was the ideal environment for him, in which he could easily win the favor of the planet's Mutant inhabitants. He observed the world carefully from the stars, studying closely the Mutants' war with their sister world, Primus. The Primands were weak and were fighting a losing battle, so with Skeletor's power on the Mutants' side, the Primands would be defeated in no time. And if, as legend claimed, Primus was home to the great Trithuseum Crystals, and the ultimate power generator, once Skeletor had this resource it would make his conquest a lot easier. The essence of the universe would be his in no time.

To Skeletor's pleasure, it emerged that there existed a cult on Denebria called the Destructons, who worshipped none other than Skeletor himself. Skeletor was impressed that there were cults throughout the universe which had adopted him as their God. The leader of the Destructons was a woman who, despite herself being a mutant, had developed astounding beauty given the deformities of her race. Her name was Krytta.

Skeletor knew that the Destructons would be his key to re-manifestation in physical form. His defeat at the hands of He-Man had prevented him from doing so with his own powers, but this cult could surely enable his return to the physical realms. So Skeletor made contact with Krytta, while she was deep in meditation over the thought of her God. Ecstatic at having made direct contact with her Lord, she instantly agreed to help him return to the physical world. She called a meeting of the Destructons, all of whom grew immediately excited at the thought of resurrecting their almighty deity.

The Destructons held a sacred ritual upon the Desert of Drail, chanting ancient incantations as they raised their arms up towards Denebria's moon, Nordor. As they chanted and danced for the presence of their Lord, the appearance of the moon itself began to change. Two of the craters deepened, becoming larger and blacker upon the moon's surface, resembling a pair of hollow eyes. Two other craters distorted in shape, together forming the appearance of a fleshless nose. And the rocky surface beneath them seemed to erode itself, until it resembled a row of skeletal teeth in a hideous evil grimace. Moon Nordor had taken upon the appearance of Skeletor.

And within the interior of the moon, which was used as a battle base, the computers began to crackle and fizzle with evil energy. Skeletor's consciousness was itself being concentrated into the machinery. A large console was infiltrated by a huge explosion, and out of it stepped the new Skeletor -part organic, part machine- his blue torso covered in robotic armor and wires, his skull encased in a tight metal helmet, a long, purple cape flowing from his back.

Skeletor beamed himself down to Denebria, where he was presented with the new Havoc Staff, constructed by the members of the Destructons using minerals and magic absorbed from the world of Infinita. He stood before his disciples, all of whom bowed to him in honor. The Overlord of Evil had truly returned- and he was now ready to start afresh in a new conquest of the universe.

Denebria was still under the rule of Commander Brakk, who mastered most of the Mutant Army's invasions of Primus. Taken aback at the sudden and unexpected presence of Skeletor on his planet, Brakk was quick to accept Skeletor's offer of assistance in his war against Primus. Skeletor promised to use his infinite knowledge, and the lessons he had learned from his previous mistakes in battle, to aid the Mutants in overcoming Primus. He knew it was a better move at this moment to ally with Brakk and assist him, rather than destroy him. His presence in this war must be kept subtle, in order for his threat to go unchallenged by any strong force of good. And besides, he needed as much alliance as he could obtain to boost his force. Brakk granted Skeletor the position of Advisor and Second Commander, but knew that as much as he would value Skeletor's assistance, he would have to keep a careful eye on him and discourage his forces from trusting Skeletor too closely. After all, it was unlikely that the notorious Lord of Destruction would have given up his desires to rule the universe, especially after having achieved that aim once before, and he was more than likely to turn against Brakk once he had the power.

The force of the Mutants' attacks against Primus increased enormously following the emergence of Skeletor. Many great cities were being destroyed by the Mutant forces, humans taken hostage, and power sources absorbed. While Primus remained beautiful and fertile as a whole, it was at risk of collapsing under Mutant force any day. The Galactic Guardians, the leading defenders of the planet, were a team of very strong fighters with great abilities and courage- but as powerful as they were, they could not resist the Mutant attacks for much longer, especially now that their attacks had become so much more fierce and violent.

The Galactic Guardians became curious as to why the Mutants' attacks seemed to have suddenly become so much more cunning and extreme, and they suspected some great evil genius may have joined them in the planning of their assaults. Their master spy, Vizar, undertook a private exploration spying on Denebria, and he discovered that the legendary Skeletor was working with the Mutants. This news greatly shocked the Guardians. All of them knew of the power of Skeletor, for he was known throughout the universe, and none of them could forget the chaos that had ensued that time he had actually conquered the universe for all of a few days. It really did seem as though Primus was in more serious danger than ever.

So action was immediately taken, and Darius, leader of the Galactic Council and master of weaponry on Primus, called an urgent meeting of the Galactic Council. He explained that with Skeletor as a prime opponent, Primus was in severe danger of succumbing to the same kind of apocalypse as had befallen Denebria centuries ago; the result of technology divorced from soul. The scientists of Primus were doing all they could to advance their machinery and weapons to strike back at the Mutants, but Darius explained that he had given the matter careful thought, and suspected that the Primands were trying too hard and pursuing the wrong methods. They were becoming far too heavily reliant on technology, to the point that many of their fighters had almost become robots, blindly fighting back at the Mutants by the day, distanced from their own souls. Darius recalled the ancient legends of the days in which Primus was ruled by the Horde, and a great savior from a primitive land had come to defend the Primands in their hour of need, bringing with him the power of the good and the way of the magic, banishing the Horde from their world and restoring peace. As the legend had it, he had pledged an eternal alliance to the Galactic Council, provided them with a share of his own power, and spoken a prophecy that if Primus were ever again to find itself the victim of technological chaos, the Primands would need look no further than the past, from which they could bring the power of the good and the way of the magic to the present to defend them. This was the move that Darius felt the Galactic Council should take.

His proposal was met with skepticism by many of the council members. Many felt that he was wallowing in idyllic fantasies, seeking sanctuary in old wives' tales. The legend of the great savior was so ancient that it was generally believed to be nothing more than a pure legend. But Darius stuck rigidly by his word, reminding them all that it was magic upon which civilization had been built in the first place, and it was magic that fuelled their machinery through the Trithuseum Crystals. And as an ancient Elder of Primus had famously spoken, _"For those of open minds and open hearts, the impossible shall emerge to save them at the moment of their deepest crises"._

Darius went on to explain that he had conducted extensive research into the details behind the ancient legend, and from what he had gathered, it appeared that the great defender of the past was from the planet Eternia, reknowned throughout the universe for its incredible power. Skeletor himself had previously warred upon Eternia, and the stories told throughout the cosmos of the great Eternian battles claimed that Skeletor was defeated by a hero named He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. If Darius' theory was correct, then the Primands already possessed a portion of the greatest power in the universe- and this great magic was on their side, ready to help them when they needed it most. Darius announced that the Primands' next move should be to travel to Eternia, and bring He-Man himself to their world, to face off against his polar enemy and bring about an end to the great war between the two worlds.

This very mission was deemed impossible by most of the council, their minds brazenly affined to skepticism and pessimism after their years of continuous loss and degradation. Eternia was millions of light years away from Primus, in another dimension of time, how could even the Primands' technology be adequate enough to breach the boundaries? But Darius refused to abandon his confidence, declaring that if Skeletor could transcend the levels, so could they. For some time, his greatest scientists had been working on a starship which, if completed according to plan, would be the ultimate spacecraft, the most powerful creation ever on Primus. This ship was a scientific marvel, of enormous size yet capable of traveling at incredible speed. Fuelled by Trithuseum Crystals, it would have many powers of magical and scientific natures, capable of breaching the barriers of space and time. The starship was close to completion, and Darius knew that the perfect choice for the ship's maiden voyage should be the voyage to Eternia, the greatest mission the Primands would ever undertake.

On the day that was planned for the great voyage to Eternia, the starship was unveiled to the whole of the Galactic Council. All were struck dumbfounded by its enormous size and beauty. Darius stepped forth, and named the ship Starship Eternia, in honor of both its maiden voyage and its incredible power. To steer the ship on its maiden voyage, Darius selected two of his finest space pilots, both great warriors and members of the Galactic Guardians. The first was Hydron, the former ruler of a once-great sea kingdom, destroyed in the Zone Wars by a great villain named the Red Sun, who killed his whole family. Kept alive only by artificial respirators and a seething determination to find the Red Sun himself, Hydron had since proved a great warrior and space pilot, a valuable aid to the Galactic Council. The second chosen pilot was Flipshot- real name Icarius, he was the last surviving member of a race of warriors from the cloud city of Cerus, skilled in aerial acrobatics. Flipshot was one of the most daring and adventurous space pilots that Primus had ever seen.

Together, Captains Hydron and Flipshot stepped into the cockpit of the Starship Eternia. All the members of the Galactic Council- and the entire population of Galactic City- wished them luck, as they blasted off into the skies, setting off on the imperative mission on which the entire future of Primus- and possibly the universe- would depend.


	27. 27 The New Adventure Begins

**Chapter 27: The New Adventure Begins**

After several hours of piloting the Starship Eternia beyond the Triax Star System and into the deepest reaches of the cosmos, Flipshot and Hydron finally felt their tremendous ship being pulled through a great ripple in the barriers of time and space. As they emerged from the space warp, a large planet appeared below them. The ship's sensors confirmed that this was Eternia, the very world which they were looking for. The scanners of the ship immediately went haywire, buzzing with energy as they detected an enormous power source coming from the world below. It looked as though Darius' "crazy, fantastic theories" had solid foundation after all. This source of power was so tremendous that for a moment, Flipshot and Hydron feared the ship would explode under the energy of their scanners. As Hydron activated the ship's beaming device, Flipshot used the ship's consoles to beam a peace signal down to the Eternians.

The presence of the alien ship above Eternia caused a stir amongst the Eternians. The planet's astronomers detected the presence of a large and incredibly powerful ship from an alien world, and warned the Eternians to prepare themselves in case of a possible invasion. Within Castle Grayskull, although he had become of an increasingly calm, sombre nature in his ten years of ruling the planet, He-Man became particularly anxious over the presence of the ship.

Shortly afterwards, he and Queen Teela were to receive a visit from none other than Teelina, the former Sorceress of Grayskull, who had flown all the way from her current home on the banks of the Harmony Sea, where she lived with Duncan, the former Man-At-Arms. She had been evoked to visit them by a terrible nightmare- and each time Eternia had come under threat before, she had been prewarned of the danger in her dreams. In her dream, she had witnessed the vision of none other than Skeletor, standing amidst a chaotic and futuristic cityscape, above a mass of mutilated bodies. He-Man was struck with immense shock when Teelina told him of this, for it bore a close resemblance to the nightmares he had been suffering himself. Could it be that the mysterious ship above Eternia belonged to none other than Skeletor, ready to mount another attack on the Eternians in the form of machinic slaughter?

But Castle Grayskull's current scientist, Marr-Vel, assured He-Man that the ship was nothing to worry about- for his consoles had picked up a peace signal which he had traced to the ship directly above Eternia. Wherever the ship had come from, and whoever was piloting it, they had come to Eternia in peace.

He-Man remained suspicious, for a peace signal could be the exact sort of trick Skeletor would think of if he were to return in this manner. He mobilized Castle Grayskull's defense forces. Marr-Vel managed to obtain radio communication with the ship, and He-Man spoke to the Captain via the system.

The voice of Captain Hydron emitted from the consoles, explaining that the ship had come from the world of Primus, which had been at war for many years with its sister world of Denebria- but the war had become even more severe of late following the Denebrians' alliance with Skeletor. He then spoke of how he had been sent to Eternia in response to an ancient legend of a great hero who would come to the aid of the Primands with the power of the good and the way of the magic.

Suddenly, the truth came to He-Man in a flash as he remembered the legends of King Grayskull and how he had allied with the world of Primus in order to drive the God Prime from Eternia. He-Man responded that the Eternians owed their own historic survival to the people of Primus, and that he would gladly join them in their intergalactic battles against the resurrected Skeletor. He immediately took hold of the Sword of Power, and said goodbye to his wife, his son and his people, declaring that he must leave Eternia for the sake of the universe. They were surprised at his abrupt departure, and many of his warriors offered to join him. He-Man urged them to stay on Eternia for their own safety, but vowed that he would contact them if he needed any help on his new space-bound struggles. He was beamed on board the Starship Eternia, where he joined Hydron and Fliphot on the return voyage to Primus.

But the return voyage did not go as smoothly as the outward voyage. For unbeknownst to the heroic captains of the ship, their trek to Eternia had not escaped the knowledge of the Mutants. General Optikk, spying undercover on Primus, had noticed that the Primands were working on some great spacecraft for an all-important expedition, and reported the findings back to Brakk, who had instructed Optikk to sneak on board the Starship Eternia to halt the procedure at the appropriate moment. Optikk was hiding on board the ship together with Kalamarr, a cyborg mutant from the Quagmire Swamp, who was one of Brakk's main henchmen.

Optikk had been to Eternia before, at the time of the Great Unrest. Recognizing the course which Hydron and Flipshot were steering through space, Optikk worked out the Galactic Guardians' plan and reported back to Brakk with what he saw.

Skeletor was shocked when he heard the details of the Primands' expedition. As he was unaware of the historical links between Primus and Eternia, it could not have come as more of a surprise to him that the Primands had taken this move. Fearful of the hindrance to his conquest that the presence of He-Man could cause, Skeletor set about ensuring that the Starship Eternia would never return to Primus at all. He could not allow his most hated enemy ever to thwart his plans a second time.

So Skeletor arranged plans through liasing with Optikk over the radio system. Once everything had been worked out, the Mutants put their plan into action. Optikk and Kalamarr showed themselves on board, taking the Galactic Guardians by surprise. Before they had the time to fight back, He-Man, Flipshot and Hydron found themselves paralyzed by Optikk's stun beam. Optikk and Kalamarr then rushed to the Escape Pod and blasted off, reaching the space warp, meeting Skeletor on the other side in a Mutant craft with Brakk and Krytta. Skeletor proceeded to infiltrate the space warp with his own evil magic, channeled through the Havoc Staff. Anyone passing through it would find themselves wracked with immense pain, their body ravaged by a thousand seering electronic volts, leading to a horrific death as they exploded from the pressure. Nothing √not even a powerful solid spacecraft√ could emerge intact on the other side of the space warp. Satisfied that he had now sealed the death of He-Man, Skeletor set about making a major assault on Primus with the Mutant forces, so that Primus would fall to his might before anything in the semblance of hope could reach it.

As Primus found itself victim of this great assault, the Starship Eternia drifted towards the space warp, with He-Man, Flipshot and Hydron completely paralyzed and helpless within. As they passed through the space warp, the force of the electric field was so severe that it automatically weakened the paralysis spell. But the three heroes remained helpless against its force. Each of them cried out in tremendous pain as the voltage coursed through their entire bodies. Even He-Man was in agony at the sheer pain, greater than any kind of pain he had felt in a long time. The pain shot through his mighty muscles, and he felt his body ready to explode any second...

As the pain reached its zenith, He-Man suddenly felt an unexpected, warm presence... the presence of none other than Teela. He heard her voice in his mind. She reminded him that no matter where he may travel amidst the dimensions of space and time, the power of the light was always within him, and was always stronger than the power of the dark. His venture into the future dimensions would be dangerous, for the levels of technological power in these dimensions were greater than anything He-Man had ever experienced on Eternia, and the long distance from Grayskull meant that he would no longer be able to channel its power so purely, all these light years away. And Skeletor, although he no longer possessed Grayskull's power himself, was nevertheless still a God and had received a tremendous boost in power which meant that He-Man's struggles with him could be harder than ever before. Therefore, Teela explained, the Elders of Grayskull had chosen to grant him extra power... of gargantuan levels. To survive in the future, and wield the power of good to sufficient effect, He-Man would be imbued with not only the power of Grayskull... but the power of Eternia. The Elders had drawn upon all the heroic power within the entire planet... and now it was to be duplicated within He-Man himself.

He-Man immediately knew what to do. Struggling hard against the pain of the electric field, he barely managed to reach for the Sword of Power. He held it above his head, and called out:

"BY THE POWER OF ETERNIA... I HAVE THE POWER!"

The control center of the ship was immediately engulfed by a tremendous explosion. But it was not the destructive explosion that its inhabitants had been anticipating. It was the explosion of immense light from the Sword of Power, which surrounded He-Man as a storm of swirling energy whooshed around his body. As the light faded, and his form came into view once more, he looked different... and a zillion times more powerful than before. His muscles seemed to have boosted in size, his chest now adorned with shimmering gold space armor, his legs encased in tight, deep blue metallic coverings and large golden boots. A myriad of voices echoed throughout the room, speaking the words:

"BY THE POWER OF THE PAST AND FUTURE JOINED... YOU ARE HE-MAN! MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE MADE NEW!"

Alleviated entirely of the pain, He-Man himself was struck with amazement at how much more powerful he felt than ever before. He felt completely indestructible┘ and completely alive. His sword shimmered with crackling energy, and he immediately channeled his power through the sword. The power of Eternia erupted through the chamber... releasing Hydron and Flipshot from the effect of the space warp, and eliminating the spell altogether. Starship Eternia drifted smoothly through the warp, emerging on the other side shimmering bright, solid and untouched.

Flipshot and Hydron looked up in pure amazement at the great being of justice above them, truly taken aback at how he had saved them both from a hellish death. Now, they really knew Darius' hopes had not been too high. If anything, the outcome of their mission had proved to be more fantastic than even Darius had dreamed of. This man -if as ordinary a term as 'man' was adequate enough to describe this incredible being- was surely their true savior. Both Hydron and Flipshot felt their bodies and souls buzzing with euphoric energy, as if unscathed by the pain they had experienced only moments ago. The power of good was at their side and in their hands -and they knew that they could use it to thwart the schemes of any evil force which may bestow its malevolence upon them.

They returned to the control panel of the ship, and accelerated its speed as they soared to the rescue of Primus. Just as Galactic City suffered in the grip of terror as Skeletor, Brakk and the Mutants ravaged its streets, a great shadow fell over the battle, and the welcomed silhouette of the returning Starship Eternia loomed high in the orange skies. The Primands burst into a cheer at the return of the ship┘ but had it acquired what it had set out to find?

The latch at the bottom of the ship sprang open, and the figure of He-Man drifted out, landing firmly on his feet in front of his wretched enemy, Skeletor. Skeletor looked upon his greatest enemy in disbelief. How had he survived the spell devised to seal his ultimate doom- and how had he emerged from it looking so much more powerful than ever before?

For the first time in over a decade, the noble, handsome face of He-Man looked upon the gruesome, decayed visage of Skeletor. His skull appeared more repulsive than ever before, its surface battered and rotten, his evil sunken red eyes shining out repulsively from their hollow sockets with more malevolence than ever before. His ultimate defeat at the hands of the forces of light had done nothing to change him. It had only made him even more evil and deranged than ever before- now fuelled further by a raging thirst for revenge.

"So, He-Man... we meet again. You dare to follow me this far?"

"I will follow you wherever you go, as long as you exist... I live to defend the universe from your evil!"

Skeletor swung his staff at He-Man, and sword clashed against staff once again, only with more ferocity and determination than ever before. The residents of both Primus and Denebria watched in amazement as these two long-time foes battled in their midst. The definitive being of evil, who had seemed certain to put an end to Primus in no time, was now even in his challenge from this astounding mortal who seemed to epitomize all that was good, radiating vibes of peace and honor from every atom of his muscular frame. And as He-Man began to gain the upper hand in the battle, the Galactic Guardians received an incredible boost of confidence, and struck back with awesome force at their Mutant tormentors. Hydron and Flipshot used the defence force of the Starship Eternia to strike at the enemy both in the air and on the ground, and the incredible machine amazed all who looked upon it as it became engrossed in its first ever battle, to follow its triumphant maiden voyage.

Eventually, as the Mutant forces were scattered, Skeletor realized just how immensely the opposition's strength had been boosted, and ordered a retreat. The Mutants quickly clambered back into their Battle Pods, and jetted off into the skies heading back towards Denebria. Before he followed them, Skeletor looked back at his hated enemy, and declared that this time, he would bring about He-Man's ultimate demise. "You will regret having followed me so far... but I will revel in delight at your mistake, once I bring about your eternal doom!"

As the debris of the battle was cleared up, Galactic City was alive with euphoria as the people of Primus, for the first time in many years, finally felt there was hope for their world. This astounding, extraterrestrial savior had come to their aid at the moment it had seemed all was lost. Darius' desires, deemed insane and fantastic by thousands of people all over Primus, had come true, to even greater effect than Darius himself had imagined. A miracle had occurred, a legend had come true, and if a miracle like this could take place, there was no limit to the great things the Primands could hope for.

He-Man was honored by the Galactic Council and the wise Elders of Primus. He was pronounced leader and commander of the Galactic Guardians, and vowed to do everything within his ability to defend Primus against the Mutants, never resting until Skeletor abandoned his twisted desires.


	28. 28 Assault on the Horde

**Chapter 28: Assault on the Horde**

And so the war was on again between He-Man and Skeletor. Skeletor continued to invade Primus, his schemes more twisted and diabolical than ever before. But He-Man gladly returned to the lifestyle of daily warfare which he had lived a decade earlier, keeping his home and his family in his thoughts as he clashed almost daily with the Mutants, keeping guard over Primus at all times.

But the war against Skeletor and the Mutants was far from easy. If anything, it was much more difficult than the old battles on Eternia. Having been defeated once before, and gained the power of the universe before, Skeletor had come back with a vengeance, learned from many of his mistakes, and knew much more about He-Man s strengths and weaknesses than he had back then. His knowledge of the essence of the universe was also supreme, for the secrets of Grayskull were still encased in his mind. Many times, he came close to defeating his enemy and gaining the victory he desired so strongly, and He-Man was evoked to become more vigilant than ever before in his defense of Primus and the universe.

Although Skeletor was still furious that He-Man had returned to oppose him, and that his cover had been blown, he quickly accepted the facts and decided it was all for the best. It would give him the chance to achieve the ultimate defeat over his enemy, and now that he felt more confident, experienced and powerful than ever, he was convinced he could do this. Following further research into Primus history, he realized that all he needed to do was harness the resources within the Trithuseum Generator, and absorb the magical power donated to Primus by the Elders of Grayskull thousands of years ago. This would give him an enormous wealth of magical and technical power, which he could use to reabsorb the entire magic of Grayskull and Eternia, thus giving him the power to pierce the very essence of the universe and redefine it for himself.

Both He-Man and Skeletor were seen as Gods on their respective worlds, astounding the residents, so used as they were to the essence of technology and material resources. Many of the Mutants became fiercely loyal to Skeletor, afraid of his power and wrath. Brakk became severely concerned about how his new advisor seemed to be gaining so much more respect and loyalty from the Mutant forces than himself. Several times he considered hatching plans to destroy Skeletor, but remembering how strongly Skeletor s magical skills were boosting the Mutants power, he knew they could not afford to lose someone so powerful, for they would stand no chance of beating He-Man without Skeletor on their side. So he knew he must keep a close watch on Skeletor, as no-one was safe from the rage of the crazed warlord, not even himself. Brakk decided to turn to an old ally for help and security and consulted none other than the universal warlord who commanded utmost respect among the Mutants Prahvus.

Since his last defeat on Eternia at the hands of Skeletor himself, Prahvus had sunken back into the shadows, but had remained as active as ever, continuing his travels throughout the universe in his efforts to turn Horde governments against Prime, and recruit disloyal Horde members into his army in preparation for the great uprising against the Horde. When Brakk explained to him the current situation with Denebria and Primus, and his concerns about Skeletor, Prahvus assured him that Skeletor need not pose the Mutants any threat. He knew a lot about Skeletor from past experience, and explained to Brakk that Skeletor's main weakness was that he trusted anyone who feared him. He reveled in other living beings reacting to him in fear, particularly his own slaves, of whom the most fearful were commonly among the most loyal. So as long as Brakk and the Mutants did not show Skeletor any of their distrust or resentment of him, he would cause them no trouble, for he would see them as fearfully loyal and therefore trust them. And Prahvus assured Brakk that if Skeletor ever did threaten to conquer or destroy the Mutant Empire for himself, he would be at hand to assist them against the Lord of Destruction.

To enforce his own protection over his allies, Prahvus presented himself to Skeletor in person, formally in Brakk s lair. Skeletor, having been unaware of Prahvus links with the Mutants, was taken aback by the sudden presence of one of his old rivals, but Prahvus explained that his desire was not to fight but to form an alliance. He explained to Skeletor that since the Mutants of Denebria were originally a breakaway force from the Horde, Skeletor was a valuable addition to their ranks not only with regards to conquering Primus, but also with regards to overcoming the Horde, building a strong enough force to oppose Prime and ousting him as ruler of the Horde.

So the two evil warlords formed a deal. Prahvus agreed to continue aiding the Mutants and Skeletor in their invasions of Primus, and bringing about the death of He-Man. Skeletor, meanwhile, agreed to assist Prahvus in his own quests when he needed it, and help him rise up against Horde Prime when the big moment came. They agreed that the culmination of their deal would be Skeletor ruling the universe, while Prahvus took charge of the Horde in Skeletor's name. Although it appeared at face value that Prahvus was willingly dedicating himself to servitude under Skeletor, this was merely a facade and Prahvus had no real fears of Skeletor ever becoming truly dominant over him. As he saw it, the crazed warlord was too exuberant and insane to ever succeed in conquering the universe successfully, and once Prahvus had the power of Prime, he would be able to absorb Grayskull's power himself and banish Skeletor into oblivion.

As both warlords battled on against their adversaries, and simultaneously increased their powers, they concocted between them a great assault on the God Prime. Skeletor knew that with the power of the Horde in his possession he could surely have all the resources he needed to conquer the universe- even if he did allow Prahvus to control the Horde at first. Prahvus, with Skeletor at his side, led a huge battalion of his forces, together with the Mutants, across the galaxies for an attack on Horde Prime's ship, the Velvet Glove.

Having seen and heard little of Prahvus since the great showdown on Eternia, Prime was unprepared for the assault. The combined power of Skeletor and Prahvus was a deadly force. Difficult as it may have sounded to make such an assault against a metaphysical enemy who could not even be seen, Skeletor and Prahvus had so much incredible power between them that it was easy for them to sense the deity's presence and strike at him. As his life force was drained, in desperation, Prime sent a radio signal out to all his forces across the cosmos demanding for them to teleport to the Velvet Glove at once to defend against the attack. Almost at once, thousands of Horde soldiers and robot warriors materialized out of the teleportation booths within the ship. Within moments, the Velvet Glove was engulfed by the chaos of intense battle.

In the midst of the conflict, many of the prison cells within the vehicle were shattered, and the hostages managed to escape and beam back to their homeworlds via the teleportation booths. Amongst the escaped hostages were several members of a secret organization against Prime that had originated on Horde World, but had recruited members from various neighbouring worlds within the galaxy as well as several other planets controlled by the Horde. They were known as the Renegades. The Renegade members who escaped from Horde Prime's ship stole on board an Escape Pod, and sped back across the cosmos to Horde World- where they reported word of the battle back to their leader, Deltara.

Deltara, founder and leader of the Renegades, was one of the most truly inspirational and honorable beings on Horde World. Few people would even have guessed, let alone believed, that this woman was a native to possibly the most evil and corrupt planet in the universe. Even in her mere form, with her beautiful and stunning appearance, and the peace and honesty within her eyes, one could sense the nobility and serenity that lay within her divine and exquisite character. Deltara, unlike anyone in previous recorded history to have been born on the soil of Horde World, had escaped the corruption which the air of evil and malice upon Horde World caused in nearly all individuals on the planet. Somehow, despite having been raised by a family of devoted Horde scientists and sorcerers, Deltara had held on to her pure heart and soul, and could see how disordered and wrong the culture on her planet was. And ever since she was a small child, she had known she must not give in to the Horde way of life. She had spent her youth training exuberantly for her lifelong mission to enable the people of Horde World to see the error of their ways, and overcome the regime of Prime. Once she had reached adulthood, she had fled from her family's home, and traveled across and beyond Horde World, spreading her words and philosophies of peace and unity. And her true goodness, compassion and wisdom had won over a heady range of individuals, enabling them to see the light and influencing them to rebel against the Horde. She had thus formed the organization that had become known as the Renegades, due to their refusal to comply with the ways of life on Horde World, which had seemed unfathomable to so many people on the planet. More and more people from Horde-ruled worlds had been recruited into the ranks of the Renegades, all firmly intent on establishing the peaceful rule which this part of the universe had so tragically escaped.

When Deltara was told by her companions of the great battle occurring within the Velvet Glove, between the three evil warlords, she felt she had to take some kind of action to put the situation right. Even if either Prahvus or Skeletor were to succeed in defeating Prime, both of them were evil in their own right and would not in any way improve the society of Horde World- in Skeletor s case, he would only make the planet much, much worse. Deltara knew a lot about both warlords. Prahvus race, the Morior, had indeed been the first ever beings on Horde World to rise against Prime but they had been misled and had not escaped corruption by the evil upon Horde World, meaning that even if their intentions had initially seemed noble, their ways were at heart no different. And as for Skeletor, this being had actually conquered the universe at one point, his evil was notorious throughout the cosmos, and many were convinced that even Prime feared him. If he was threatening to take over Horde World, he must be stopped at once.

After careful consideration, Deltara decided that there was only one solution. Legend had it that Prime s one-time favorite student, Hordak, who had himself actually overcome and merged with Prime for a few years, had been defeated by a magnificent warrior woman who wielded the power of justice in her very hands. She had possessed the power of Grayskull- that legendary power located on the world of Eternia, which even Prime had failed to grasp for himself despite several attempts in over a thousand years. According to the legend, after the defeat of Hordak, and the separation of Prime s soul, Prime himself had been banished from Eternia by a hero from ancient times- apparently the same great hero who had rid Eternia of his evil on his first attempt all those centuries ago. Since Eternia seemed to be the only place in the universe with the power to defeat Prime, Deltara decided that the magic of Grayskull was needed on Horde World, to overcome Prime once and for all.

So she made the decision to contact none other than the great heroine who had defeated Hordak and helped save the universe- Adora.


	29. 29 The Princess Of Power Returns

**Chapter 29: The Princess of Power Returns**

In the decade that had passed on Etheria since the forces of good s great victory, Adora had lived a serene and peaceful life, on the seas of Etheria with her husband, Sea Hawk. Sea Hawk's ship was their home, and they followed a nomadic lifestyle, sailing over the seas, raising their young daughter and son. Although the Sword of Protection was still in her possession, Adora had not become She-Ra ever since the great war was won. Back in her fighting days, the guise of She-Ra had been a form of escape for Adora, a disguise to shield herself from her guilt over the crimes she had committed as Adora during her youth. But she had long since accepted herself for who she was, and the people of Etheria had likewise long since forgiven her after she had saved their world and the universe. She no longer needed that disguise, and was eager to leave behind the many years of war which had dominated her youth.

Sea Hawk, likewise, had mellowed with age and had left behind his pirate days. Although he was still a powerful warrior, he had not engaged in combat for a long time and had become a peaceful and respectable sailor. Although he and Adora spent much of their time in solitude, together with their children, they still took plenty of time to visit their friends on the land and help out with the rejuvenation of Etheria after its many years of turmoil under the Horde. Etheria was slowly beginning to flourish once again, as the state of poverty declined, more people were led to open their eyes to the light after years of loyalty to the Horde, and Queen Glimmer did everything in her capability to restore peace to the planet.

But throughout the decade of peace that had passed since the Horde s banishment, Adora had always felt a faint sense of unease at the fact that the Horde still existed, and were still out there, wreaking havoc across the universe, her servitude under Hordak still legendary among them. At times she had felt guilty at her lack of action in putting a total stop to their evil. Sea Hawk had always reassured her that the Horde was no longer a concern of hers, and she had no reason to feel guilty about their continued reign of terror throughout the cosmos. But having been raised and bred among the Horde, and still feeling a deep-rooted anger over the way they had brought her up to follow their ways, Adora wanted nothing more deep down than to see the Horde come to an utmost end and knew she would be more than happy to finish them off herself.  
Therefore, when she received the unexpected call from across the universe, it came to Adora as both a relief and a burden. It was a burden in that it meant she had to return to a lifestyle of war and combat, but at the same time it was a relief in that she finally had the reasoning to set out into the cosmos and act upon her chance to put an end to the Horde's evil once and for all.

She received the communication from Deltara via the means of Light Hope and the Crystal Castle. Deltara had sought to contact Adora by sinking into deep meditation in her chamber, in the Renegades base, the Temple of Redemption. Merging her conscious mind with her highest awareness, Deltara had channeled her energy across the cosmos until she had attained communication with Light Hope. She had spoken telepathically to Light Hope through meditation, and informed him of the state of the war on Horde World, and the ferocious battle that currently raged between Prime, Prahvus and Skeletor. Light Hope assured her that the heroine she needed would be with her in due time. For the first time in over a decade, the jewel in Adora's Sword of Protection shimmered with immense light as Light Hope spoke to Adora through the sword.

After Light Hope had told Adora all the details of the call he had received from Deltara, Adora knew there was no time to waste. She would happily relinquish her peaceful life on Etheria for the sake of the universe, especially if it meant eliminating Horde Prime for good. She already knew that her brother was out there in the cosmos after he had been called out to stop the resurrected Skeletor from taking over the universe once more. She was more than happy to join him amongst the stars in the ultimate battle for the universe.

Accompanied by Sea Hawk and their two children, Adora journeyed to the Crystal Castle, a place she had not been in a long time, which in recent years had figured in her life only as a place which she entertained her children with fantastic tales of. She stood before the essence of divinity that was Light Hope, who warmly welcomed her back to his home and told her of the plan of action for Adora's quest to save the universe from Prime.

After the plan had been explained, Adora said goodbye to her husband and children, and entered one of the many dimensional portals within the Crystal Castle. The portal led not to a particular planet, but to a secret Renegade spacecraft. On board this craft, Adora met Deltara and the Renegade warriors and also He-Man and a team of Galactic Guardians, whom Light Hope had contacted to inform about the situation.

The battle on board the Velvet Glove was disrupted by the sudden presence of both He-Man and She-Ra. As Prime and his forces had been weakened from the fight, he was unprepared for their intervention. The combined power of the two heroes of Grayskull, together with the force of both the Galactic Guardians and the Renegades, eventually drove both Skeletor and Pahvus from the ship. Prime was no match for the heroic power he faced, so he summoned all his energy, and with the aid of his forces, caused an immense explosion of electrical power, to which the Horde forces were immune. The heroes had no choice but to flee the ship, and escaped back to the Renegades headquarters on Horde World.


	30. 30 Extermination Of The Heroes

**Chapter 30: Extermination of the Heroes**

Prime had evaded capture this time, but now that She-Ra was present on Horde World, his rule would be greatly threatened. She-Ra and He-Man held a speech in the Temple of Redemption in front of all the Renegades and their allies, vowing to strive to free this world- and the surrounding galaxy- from the influence of Horde Prime. He-Man then went back to Primus, but She-Ra was given the position of leader of the Renegades, and the forces were fully mobilized to provide the biggest opposition to Prime s reign throughout history.

Prime immediately realized the severity of this threat. Now that the power of Grayskull was present on Horde World, he knew he must work as hard as possible to destroy She-Ra before his millennia-old empire could crumble. As the battles raged between the Renegades and the Horde day by day, more opposition to Prime was generated and the Renegades forces swelled continuously. While He-Man now had only one true form, She-Ra continued to re-assume the identity of Adora whilst on Horde World in order to hide from her adversaries.

But She-Ra was not the only threat that Prime faced, as it soon transpired that Prahvus was doing business on Horde World as well. As the presence of She-Ra and the Renegades convinced more people to abandon their loyalty to Prime, Prahvus, working undercover, managed to convince some of them to join his forces rather than those of She-Ra. The war was rapidly reaching a state of destructive chaos.

Over in the Triax Star System, Skeletor s attempts to gain hold of the Trithuseum Generator were constantly being thwarted by He-Man. The forces of destruction were getting nowhere fast. Prime decided the time had come to take serious action against the power of Grayskull. It had gotten in the way of the forces of evil too many times. Prime called a meeting with Skeletor and Prahvus, in the chamber of the Velvet Glove, and proposed a temporary alliance between the three warlords. They should join forces, he suggested, until they had brought about one thing the deaths of He-Man and She-Ra. Once these two heroes were no more, the three warlords could fight between themselves to obtain the power of Grayskull.

Skeletor and Prahvus agreed to the alliance. Back on Denebria, Skeletor explained to the Mutant army that their sole goal at this point in time must be the death of He-Man. Before they could continue with their aim of conquering Primus, they must bring about the death of this one man. Brakk, meanwhile, by assuming the guise of an ordinary scientist, had managed to steal a portion of Trithuseum Crystals from Primus. Skeletor was able to use the Trithuseum to power the Mutants weaponry and machinery. All they needed to do now was spring a surprise attack on He-Man alone when he least expected it, and take his life.

Skeletor ordered the Mutant spies to keep watch over He-Man s movements. Optikk soon reported that he had seen He-Man piloting an Astrosub towards Horde World, presumably to help She-Ra and the Renegades. Skeletor decided to seize his chance- this could give him the opportunity to kill both He-Man and She-Ra at once. He reported this observation to both Prahvus and Horde Prime, and the three of them mounted an attack on the Renegades base.

With the Mutants power boosted by the Trithuseum energy, the Renegade forces were scattered but it soon became clear that the whole of the evil armies were only after He-Man and She-Ra. She-Ra knew what she must do. Remembering King Grayskull s victory over Prime centuries ago, she concentrated on the energy from the Trithuseum crystal within the Sword of Protection. A beam from her sword powered the Renegades machinery, enabling them to fire an enormous, magic-fuelled blast of energy towards the evil forces. The evil forces found their machinery disabled by the blast, and had no choice but to retreat. But they had achieved a victory of sorts for while He-Man and She-Ra were still alive, the Renegades base was destroyed entirely. With no place to work from on Horde World, their forces would be overcome by the Horde in no time. He-Man and She-Ra led the Renegades to the Astrosub, and they blasted off for Primus, which the Renegades would have to make their new home.

They arrived on Primus, where Darius immediately called an urgent meeting of the Galactic Council. He welcomed She-Ra, Deltara and the Renegades to the ranks of the Galactic Guardians, but explained that the opposition they faced was now greater than ever. Now that Horde Prime no longer faced any opposition on Horde World, himself and the other evil leaders were bound to set their sights solely on Primus, and their first goal was to be the deaths of He-Man and She-Ra. The situation they faced was drastic- Skeletor, Horde Prime and Prahvus would clearly do everything they could to bring about the deaths of these two heroes, and yet Primus depended on them both to save their world. If the deaths of their defenders was the sole goal of the evil forces, they may just succeed.

But He-Man and She-Ra knew it could never be easy to kill anyone who possessed the power of Grayskull. He-Man contacted his wife, Queen Teela, back on Eternia. As Sorceress of Grayskull, Teela granted both He-Man and She-Ra an extra portion of power from the Eternian Elders, and also sent along a team of backup warriors from both Eternia and Etheria to aid the heroic forces of Primus. Among them were several of He-Man s old allies from the ranks of the Masters, and Adora s own husband Sea Hawk also journeyed to Primus to help them, having left their children on Etheria in the care of Queen Glimmer. To protect themselves, He-Man and She-Ra resumed the identities of Adam and Adora. While He-Man s two forms had merged together shortly after he became King of Eternia, he now had the power to revert to the form of an ordinary mortal. Although the evil forces had become aware of the heroes secret identities in the later stages of the great Eternian war, with age and time they now appeared different enough physically so as not to be recognized.

The re-assumption of their secret identities was enough to confuse the Mutants upon their next attack on Primus, for an attempt to locate He-Man and She-Ra via brainwave patterns failed and the Mutants were left perplexed as to the whereabouts of the heroes. Although Brakk suggested they may have left Primus to find help from elsewhere in the universe, Skeletor was not convinced- he knew the power of Grayskull well enough by now to know it could easily protect or conceal the heroes. He ordered for an attack to be launched upon Galactic City, for He-Man and She-Ra would surely emerge from hiding to defend their friends.

As the battle sprang into action, Adam and Adora were confident enough that they could help the Galactic Guardians win the battle without having to transform or show themselves. The power of Grayskull had by now formed a protective field around the Trithuseum Generator, which would make it harder for the evil forces to attack. Adam and Adora hid from the battle in an underground bunker from where they could spring out a surprise attack if they were needed. The Mutants closed in on the Galactic Council s headquarters and were ready to blow up the council chamber. At this point, Adam and Adora transformed into He-Man and She-Ra, and were ready to spring out and thwart the attack. But before they could do so, Krytta picked up the brainwave patterns of He-Man and She-Ra on her device, and the Mutants immediately changed targets and marched towards the bunker. Breaking underground, Skeletor and the Mutants fired an immense blast of energy towards the two heroes, and a huge explosion engulfed the bunker. Once the explosion had died down, there was only a pile of rubble and ash within the bunker. He-Man and She-Ra were no more.

The evil forces erupted into celebration. Skeletor had finally achieved his goal, and killed his most hated enemies. They quickly marched upon the Trithuseum Generator, and managed to weaken the strength of the force field around it. Skeletor usurped more of the power and laughed in evil ecstasy as he felt himself grow more powerful than he had been in a long time. The Mutants left Primus victorious, knowing they could easily conquer the planet upon their next assault.


	31. 31 The Denebrian Arrest

**Chapter 31: The Denebrian Arrest**

Shortly afterwards, on Denebria, Skeletor was laughing maniacally as he and Krytta watched the events on Primus from their viewscreen. The Galactic Council were holding a memorial following the demise of their defenders, and were praying to the stars for help against the Mutants. Queen Teela, devastated at the death of her husband, had temporarily left behind her duties as Guardian of Grayskull to aid the Primands herself, promising that she would grant them greater portions of Grayskull's power to defend themselves from the next Mutant attack.

Skeletor then set about using the power of the Trithuseum crystals that he had gathered to harness the essence of the universe and remould it to his own desires. Chaos ensued slowly throughout the cosmos as he did so. Once he had the entire Trithuseum Generator for himself, he would once again become Master of the Universe and this time, it would be for good.

Although all the Mutants were overjoyed at how close to victory they were coming, Brakk knew their victory would be in vain if Skeletor got the power of the Primands himself. He knew that Skeletor would destroy him and take Denebria for his own once he had won. Unsure of what to do, he spoke to Prahvus. Prahvus agreed that they could not allow Skeletor to obtain his desires, and decided there was only one thing they could do at this moment. Now that He-Man and She-Ra were no more, they were free to break the alliance with Horde Prime. So now was the time for them to make their final assault on Prime, destroy him and take over the Horde for themselves.

Brakk managed to sneak away from the Mutant base with a sample of Trithuseum crystals, unnoticed by Skeletor. This could fuel their power upon their assault on Prime. Together, with a team of Mutant warriors and members of Prahvus forces, they piloted a shuttle to Horde World, ready to challenge Prime for the last time.

Prime found himself attacked in his base in the name of the Morior. The attack was sudden and violent, and the immense power obtained by Prahvus and Brakk was severe enough to overcome most of Prime s warriors. Prahvus used the Trithuseum crystals to paralyze Prime s energy, concentrating it into the crystals to be fully absorbed. For a second it looked as though they were finally ready to take Prime prisoner when the crystals, abruptly, stopped working.

Brakk and Prahvus were perplexed. Why was this? However hard they tried, they could not produce any further energy from the crystals, and Prime began to escape. He began, slowly, to regain his power.

Realizing they could be quickly overcome if they remained in Prime s base, Brakk and Prahvus quickly fled, and stopped in the desert outside to work out what was happening. They had barely stopped for more than a moment, when they were faced with none other than He-Man and She-Ra, standing in front of them, alive and appearing more powerful than ever.

The power of Grayskull had been so strong that even Grayskull's own guardians had underestimated it. They had survived the explosion on Primus with the help of Zodac, who had sensed the instability in the cosmic balance of the universe, and thus intervened to put it right. Zodac had found He-Man and She-Ra refuge in an underground hideout on Horde World, providing them with the means to channel the power of Grayskull from Eternia to Horde World, thus weakening the power of the evil forces on the planet. It had been this which had affected the magic being used by Brakk and Prahvus.

He-Man and She-Ra arrested the two evil creatures in the name of Grayskull. Prahvus had enough magic power within him to narrowly escape their grasp, and vanished into thin air. But Brakk, possessing no magic power of his own, found himself taken prisoner by the two heroes, and escorted to their underground hideout.

Back on Denebria, Skeletor soon received a visit from Prime, having heard the news of Skeletor s victory on Primus and the apparent deaths of He-Man and She-Ra. He stated that the time had come for the final assault on Primus. Skeletor agreed to let Prime aid him, and that once they had easy access to the Trithuseum Generator, it would be between the two of them in the battle for the universe. Given that he had already succeded part way in remoulding the essence of the universe to his desires, Skeletor was thoroughly confident of victory over Prime.

The attack was launched, and the Primands, still believing He-Man and She-Ra to be dead, were helpless against the evil forces, even with Queen Teela and the Masters on their side. Before long, the protective field around the Trithuseum Generator was dissolved entirely, and they stormed upon the generator.

At that exact moment, over on Horde World, He-Man and She-Ra had succeeded in transferring a sufficient amount of Grayskull s energy to the evil planet. Using their swords, they concentrated the energy strongly, forming it into a large, shimmering golden tower, slightly resembling the Crystal Castle. Light Hope appeared above them, congratulating them on this achievement. Although there would still be a long way to go before Horde World could be fully liberated, now that a monument of goodness stood upon the planet the evil upon this world could be countered firmly. Light Hope would act as the temporary guardian of the golden tower and would draw as many people as possible into the fortress for redemption. Zodac also congratulated He-Man and She-Ra on their victory. Now their sole mission was to save Primus. Stealing a Horde shuttle pod, the heroes blasted off for Primus.


	32. 32 The Final Fight Of Horde Prime

**Chapter 32: The Final Fight of Horde Prime**

On Primus, Skeletor and Prime had both succeeded in reaching the Trithuseum Generator. The fight was on between the two deities of evil to determine which of them would gain its power. At the point that the alliance between the two was broken, a fleet of Horde ships burst out from the skylines to attack Skeletor, having been positioned secretly above Primus by their master, awaiting his command. Skeletor was stunned slightly by the attack, and Prime took the opportunity to seize a large portion of Grayskull-powered Trithuseum into his own hands. Realizing the power that Prime was about to gain, a team of Galactic Guardians led by Flipshot sprang out to attack the God of evil. At the same time, Skeletor shot a beam of power at his adversary, and Prime retreated from the battle by dissolving his form into a cloud of black mist, which seeped underground ready to harness the rest of the Trithuseum s power in time to sprin back out

But not before he encountered none other than She-Ra and He-Man, having just landed in a secret underground station to save Primus. Horde Prime was unprepared for the sudden presence of his most hated foes, and a battle sprung out between himself and She-Ra. As She-Ra faced Prime for the last time, He-Man knew his mission lay above ground for Skeletor had almost gained the entire Trithuseum Generator for himself.

Above ground, the Primands could only watch in horror as the form of Skeletor gre to gigantic size, crackling with immense electrical energy as he absorbed the power of the Trithuseum Crystals. More and more of Grayskull s power seeped through the Trithuseum and into his form as he towered above the Primands, his eyes blazing with a red electric flare, laughing with deafening insanity. His appearance became more terrifying than ever; a decayed skull juxtaposed horribly atop a mechanical, cybernetic body pulsating with electrical power.

This was it. This was the real power he had been waiting for. The combined power of magic and technology made him feel much stronger and more powerful than ever even more than the purely magical power he had initially gained from Grayskull a decade ago. The resources of the technical universe at his command, he could now remould reality to his will.

And as he did so, his force was felt throughout the entire universe. Over on Eternia, the nightmare of Skeletor s previous conquest, a decade previous, was repeated as chaos and destruction engulfed the land, a black whirlwind of evil energy whooshing above Grayskull as its power was usurped by the greatest deity of evil, light years away. Skeletor s deafening, maniacal laugh echoed throughout the entire universe. This time, surely no other being could even potentially stop him.

In the hidden technical chambers beneath Galactic City, the battle between She-Ra and Prime raged intensely. Both were being weakened at once by the power of Skeletor but She-Ra possessed the immense power of the Sword of Protection, its Trithuseum Crystal firmly fixed in the center. The face of Prime s ancient adversary, King Grayskull, floated in the jewel. He was channeling his wisdom and power through to his powerful female successor.

Prime realized the opposition that he faced. He was sure to be defeated if he stayed around now. He chose to retreat from the scene of the battle to the place where he was at his most powerful Horde World. Skeletor could be challenged at a later date. He cast a quick spell, and retreated to his home planet but She-Ra was quick enough to follow him. Within moments, they both found themselves face to face in Prime s stronghold on Horde World, and the battle sprung into action once again. Prime was now thoroughly confident of victory, with the power of his homeland on his side.

She-Ra knew what she had to do. Using the power of the crystal within her sword to drain the energy of Prime s machinery around her, she flung it back at Prime in one major burst of energy, draining the power of the Trithuseum that he posessed. Prime reacted quickly, and sent an array of flying lazer devices coursing through the air towards She-Ra. The Sword of Protection was knocked from She-Ra s grasp, and fell to the ground. Prime sent a blast of energy towards She-Ra, and a surge of deadly electrical energy ran through her body. Burn marks seared over her flesh. The next few moments could be her last.

She-Ra writhed in pain against Prime's attack. Was this the end? But as she struggled against the vast energy of Prime, she saw the face of King Grayskull float within the jewel of her sword, and heard his voice speak to her.

"She-Ra... the power of technology is no match for the power of light. Remember, the essence of the universe is light energy and the light is within yourself. You must call upon it within you!"

She-Ra understood his words, and concentrated as hard as she good to fight against the physical pain she was feeling. Throughout the years she had defended the side of good, she had used her powers to work many miracles and heal many injured and sick people. Did she really have the power to heal herself amidst all this pain?

As Horde Prime laughed in mockery at the weakenin form of his foe, She-Ra summoned up all the light energy within her, and spoke the words:

"For the Honor of Grayskull... let the magic within prevail!"

She felt an immense burst of magical energy emit from within her form. All at once, her pain vanished, and she seized hold of the Sword of Protection, leaped into the air, and came forward towards Prime with a flying whirlwind kick. Stunned at the sudden recovery of the Princess of Power, Prime quickly activated the Trithuseum Crystals to send his automatic weaponry towards her but it had no effect. She-Ra had touched upon the true essence of magic within herself, and the effect of the Trithuseum on technology was now useless. Summoning up all the power of Grayskull, combined with the light energy within herself, She-Ra fired an almighty blast from her sword at Prime and a cry of immense evil pain was heard as the misty form of Prime began to vaporize into the air above. The glowing red eyes of Prime began to fade, then they closed had relied too strongly on the dominance of technology over magic, a feat that was never truly possible given the composure of the universe and this mistake had led to his demise.

Exhausted from the battle, She-Ra just managed to summon enough energy to ascend to the top of the building. Prime s influence gone, the bleak, grey-brown clouds of the skies of Horde World finally began to dissipate, allowing for the first glimmer of sunlight the planet had ever seen. The golden tower could be seen in the distance. She-Ra had done it. She had saved Horde World despite having been weakened. But she had the worrying instinct that her victory was in vain... for in the distance, echoing throughout the universe, she could hear the maniacal laugh of Skeletor.


	33. 33 The Power Of The Universe

**Chapter 33: The Power of the Universe**

Back on Primus, Skeletor, his form pulsating with evil ecstasy, towered above the Primands and delivered a speech that was heard throughout the cosmos.

"People of the Universe... Meet your ruler. I, Skeletor, the true Master of the Universe, reign supreme over all. All the wisdom you ever gathered, all the magic you ever practiced, all the machinery you ever created, has entered into the possession of myself. I have unstoppable power over you all. Pledge yourselves to me or perish, for not only am I Master of the Universe... I am the Universe!"

The Primands shook their heads in sorrow and disbelief. All the optimism they had ever possessed was lost. They could only willingly surrender at this time to Skeletor's victory. But in spite of his victory, the Mutants were also unsure if this had been what they wanted. Their aim throughout all the years of war had been vengeance on the Primands for what they did to their world, and rulership over Primus. This kind of maniacal dictatorship that Skeletor was advocating was beyond anything that even the most twisted Mutant mind could have conceived. What good was this victory to them, as all they could do now was become willing slaves to Skeletor?

He-Man had by now emerged from underground, but it seemed he had arrived too late. His connection with the power of Grayskull was diminishing, and he could only stagger across the land as his power weakened. He gripped the Sword of Power tight, hoping to harness all the power of the Eternian Elders, but it seemed useless for all that power was being usurped by Skeletor.

As he staggered, as yet unseen, through the streets of Galactic City, he suddenly found himself face to face with none other than Brakk, emerging from a dark alleyway. He was surprised at the sudden appearance of Denebria's ruler, for She-Ra and himself had left Brakk in the prison on Horde World. But Brakk explained that he had been granted freedom by Zodac and Light Hope. His experience under their watchful eyes had enabled him to see the error of the vengeful path himself and the Mutant Army had followed for so many years. He had already experienced doubts about this under the servitude of the maniacal Skeletor, and had been confronted with the consequences of his evil ways. He told He-Man he had now come to amend for his evils by doing his bit to save the universe before it was too late.

He-Man asked him how exactly this was possible. Brakk explained he had not come to Primus alone, and he stepped out of the alleyway to reveal none other than Sortech. The great scientist of Eternia smiled at He-Man, and explained Brakk had called him to Primus upon instruction from Zodac. He presented He-Man with the great device known as the Ergon, the invention with the ability to control all technical power. He-Man knew what must be done.

By this time, Skeletor s conscience was transcending throughout the entire universe, away from his physical body. His laughing, demonic form appeared before many terrified people on countless planets throughout the cosmos. Wherever anyone looked or went Skeletor was there. The Lord of Destruction had achieved the ultimate aim he had been created for pure destruction of the entire universe.

Skeletor let his conscience drift throughout the universe, and looked upon the essence of reality that was now his own. His own to do whatever he wanted with each mortal his own willing servant. He witnessed millions of different worlds at once, collapsing under his power; heard the terrified thoughts in the minds of zillions of people surrendering to his will and for several moments, he bathed in the ecstasy of it all. Pure evil ecstasy.

He was suddenly distracted by an immense, electrifying surge of energy that coursed through his entire essence. Concentrating his energy back into his enlarged physical body on Primus, Skeletor saw none other than his most hated foe of all eternity He-Man flying towards him on a Bola-Jet, aiming the Ergon directly at him, its technical power draining the cybernetic energy from Skeletor s form.

He could not believe it. How had his hated enemy managed to escape death? How could he possibly be alive and still powerful at this point in time?

He was so taken aback that he knew not what reaction to take. His decayed jaw opening wide and his eyes blazing with surprise, he could only yell in amazement at the top of his voice, "HE-MAN!!!!!"

No words were emitted from the throat of the universe's most powerful hero in response. He merely set about doing what had to be done. Tucking the Ergon into his belt, he gripped the Sword of Power in both hands, and smashed it against Skeletor's Havoc Staff. For the final time, sword and staff were enlocked in battle as the universe's two greatest forces of good and evil entered their ultimate fight. As Skeletor's power was drained, he shrunk back to mortal size and engaged in combat with He-Man atop the crackling electrical platform above the Trithuseum Generator.

Although he was weakened, Skeletor quickly remembered the power he possessed. He was not only Master of the Universe... he _was _the universe, and he could not forget that at this point in time.

"He-Man... you can never defeat me... I AM THE UNIVERSE!"

He fired a deadly bolt from his palms at the great defender. The power was so extreme that it coursed painfully throughout He-Man's physique, causing him to stumble to the ground. But as he did so, he heard the words of one of Zodac's most ancient philosophies in his mind:

"The power of technology is finite... the power of the mind is infinite. The power of the mind is the power of magic. The power of magic is the power of the universe."

He-Man knew what he must do. He raised the Sword of Power aloft, and cried out:

"BY THE POWER OF THE UNIVERSE... I HAVE THE POWER!"

An almighty explosion erupted from the sword, and engulfed the whole of Primus. The remaining power of Grayskull within He-Man's possession harnessed the power of the entire universe, and swept it away from Skeletor, coursing throughout He-Man's physique. Every living being on Primus shielded their eyes as the bright light swept throughout the planet. A final, enormous blast of power from He-Man's sword sent the power of the universe the power of light and goodness- beaming towards Skeletor, and searing throughout both his physical body, and his metaphysical essence. Skeletor was finally overcome by the force of light.

As the light died down, the cyborg body of Skeletor lay on the metal platform above the Trithuseum Generator, the cybernetic enhancements now useless, crackling away and dying. The decayed skull of the great evil deity glanced weakly up at He-Man, the red eyes slowly fading.

In his final moment of conscience, as Skeletor looked up at the form of his heroic enemy, Skeletor almost respected this man for how he had nonchalantly persisted, throughout all these years, with his firm opposition to Skeletor's evil. He was almost pleased to gallantly lose to this hero.

"He-Man..." he said, weakly, "It's over..."

The skull collapsed back, the redness of his eyes faded and died, leaving his eye sockets hollow and dull. Then, before He-Man's eyes, his entire, grotesque evil form faded into nothingness and vanished completely.

The Sun shone brightly over the beautiful, shimmering towers of Galactic City. The light was reflected on Enos, Primus' moon, hanging further over in the horizon in harmonic balance with the sun. As He-Man, exhausted from having channeled the power of the entire universe, slowly turned and looked down upon the people of Primus he was met by the most rapturous, enthused, and genuine cheers and applause he had ever witnessed. The term 'hero' was not enough on its own to describe this man who had single-handedly saved the entire universe. He-Man had surpassed everything that could possibly be expected of a hero. He was hailed as a messiah and a true savior.

Back on ground level, as He-Man was warmly embraced by Darius and the Elders of Primus, he was reunited with his wife, Queen Teela, overjoyed to see her husband alive and a greater hero than ever before. Darius knew his visions of yesteryear had paid off perfectly. Just as the ancient Primand legends foretold, the power of the good and the way of the magic had been re-established on their world after so many centuries.

Although the law officers of Primus were ready to arrest Brakk and the Mutant Army, Brakk stepped forth and declared his desire to amend for the evils of his people by signing a peace treaty with Primus. As Brakk had played a role in delivering to He-Man the power he needed to save the universe, he was pardoned by the Galactic Council and a treaty was signed with the agreement that the Primands would help Brakk and the Mutants re-develop Denebria and restore the former beauty of their world. Many of the Mutant army, although they were content with the treaty, allowed the Primands to hold them in temporary custody in order to prove their redemption and compensate for their evils. A small band of Mutants, generally devastated by the demise of Skeletor, left Primus for the stars, led by the mournful Krytta, whose love for Skeletor would persist until the end of her time.

The news of Skeletor's defeat traveled quickly throughout the universe, and soon reached She-Ra, who contacted her brother from Horde World, where she was experiencing a similar rapturous reception following the defeat of Prime. Many denizens of Horde World, finally liberated from Prime's influence, were flocking to the Golden Tower to achieve redemption. However, there was a poignant side to She-Ra's victory- she had received the news that her husband, Sea Hawk, had been killed in the final battles between the Renegades and the Horde minions. Tears of both sorrow and joy streamed down the face of the universe's greatest heroine as she told her brother of her victory, and he promised to join her as soon as he had departed Primus.

A ceremony was held several days later in Galactic City to celebrate the freedom of their world, and of the universe. In attendance were not only all the saviors of Primus, but also Zodac and all the Cosmic Enforcers, present to celebrate the paying off of the great wisdom they uncovered all those millennia ago on Eternia when they were the Council of the Wise. He-Ro and King Grayskull were also present at the ceremony, the latter overjoyed to see the effect that his wisdom and heroism had had upon saving Primus all these centuries after he originally freed this world. And not only were Eternia's great saviors all present, but The Goddess herself also attended the ceremony, the universe's oldest and greatest deity present to celebrate the ultimate victory of her disciples over the forces of darkness. The ultimate victory of good over evil had been accomplished. The universe need fear nothing from this point onwards. The power of the good and the way of the magic had been firmly established as the prime force at the very heart of the universe- and having achieved its utmost victory over the forces of evil, materialism and technology, it was sure to maintain the harmony of the universe for all eternity.

Queen Teela left Primus after the ceremony. With her was Sortech, who was now to be granted the role of protector of technology within the ranks of Grayskull. The Ergon was to be held within the walls of Grayskull for the rest of eternity.

He-Man stayed on Primus for several more days, to help its citizens make a start in the rebuilding of their lives and society. Then, he took off for the stars, ready to return to Eternia, his family, and his kingdom.

Over on Horde World, She-Ra was hailed as a Goddess by its people. She had liberated a planet that had been naturally evil from its very birth, and more people came to pledge their allegiance to the forces of light. But She-Ra insisted that Deltara was the real heroine of this planet, for it had been her who had possessed the emotional strength to resist Prime's corruption and see through the Horde's evil in the first place. Without Deltara, Horde World may have remained under the control of Prime. So Deltara was crowned Queen of the planet, soon to be renamed following the demise of Prime. She would rule from the Golden Tower, from where she would also communicate with the many other worlds which had been ruled by the Horde, and aid them all in the process of regeneration. The Horde had not been completely eliminated, as various members had avoided redemption and fled to other quarters of the universe but now that the influence of Prime had gone, they were now little more than a band of petty criminals who would pose no major threat to the universe. As Deltara took over rulership of her world, She-Ra bade farewell to the people of this planet, and returned to Etheria, to a life of peace with her children. The universe was safe- for now...


	34. 34 The Legacy Of Grayskull

**Chaper 34: The Legacy Of Grayskull**

Peace reigned over the universe following the defeats of Skeletor and Horde Prime. However, an extra air of poignancy was added to the victory of the forces of good... for He-Man never returned to Eternia. Although he had clearly intended to return, he never did so, and no-one knew where he had gone. The Sword of Power was found a while later in one of the craters of Primus' moon, Enos. But as for what had become of its owner, no-one ever knew.

Queen Teela ruled Eternia in peace, raising her son, Dare, on the wisdom of her missing husband. He grew up to be a strong and brave Prince. Although most people on the planet lived without fear, following the victories of the planet s founders over the universe, ten years on from the defeat of Skeletor, evil returned to Eternia. The Goddess Shokoti, who had dwelled for twenty years in her desert home, re-emerged, taking advantage of the apparent death of He-Man to attempt conquest of Grayskull and rulership of Eternia, re-establishing the cult of the Nocturnals which had started the chaos of the universe in the beginning. She did so with the help of Scare Glow, a former minion of Skeletor, a spectral entity composed of light energy. At her command was a team of desert warriors following the teachings and battle techniques of the Nocturnals, from ancient times.

The Sword of Power was passed down to Dare, who used the sword to become He-Ro the Second, wielding the power of Grayskull in defence against Shokoti, the Living Darkness. Dare's adventures were many as he and a band of heroic warriors explored the hidden underworlds of the Sands of Time in search of the relics from ancient civilizations necessary to stop Shokoti.

At the same time, Etheria was also attacked once again by none other than Prahvus. Following the demise of Horde Prime, Prahvus had succeeded in convincing the remaining members of the Horde to join his own ranks, essentially making true his lifelong desire of taking over the Horde for himself. Having discovered the location of a secret evil power source beneath Etheria s surface, Prahvus and the Horde invaded Etheria, utilizing dark magical practices established centuries ago by an evil cult that had opposed the First Ones. Adora, now reaching middle age, was living a life of solitude on a remote island on Etheria s largest ocean, where she was regarded as a wise oracle of knowledge by the locals. The Sword of Protection was passed to her daughter, Sade, who became She-Ra the Second and fought to defend Etheria and the ruling kingdom of Bright Moon against the evil of Prahvus.

The wars raged over both worlds for several years, and following an eventual alliance between Prahvus and Shokoti, an assault on Grayskull almost led to a victory for evil... before the intervention of none other than He-Man. The Eternians were both amazed and relieved to see the most powerful man in the universe return alive and well after so many years of unexplained absence. After he had provided Dare with the magic and wisdom necessary to defeat Shokoti, he explained that his years of absence had been spent in the company of the Cosmic Enforcers. After he had left Primus, Zodac had explained to him that he must disappear from mortal civilization until he was next seriously needed, so that the brevity and confidence of ordinary mortals could be bolstered against the forces of evil in his absence. This would prepare ordinary people better for any future assaults by the forces of evil, while in his time away He-Man had also been given the chance to himself learn the greatest secrets and wisdom of the cosmos, so his spirit could live on and aid the Cosmic Enforcers in the centuries to follow his mortal demise.

At the same time as Shokoti was defeated, Sade was also enabled to use the wisdom and heroism of her mother and uncle to defeat Prahvus once and for all, and Prahvus felt a sense of redemption in his moment of death. The remaining Horde members were taken prisoner, and the Horde was finally no more after all these millennia.

He-Man, Eternia's warrior King and the universe's ultimate savior, returned to the throne of Grayskull to rule Eternia alongside his wife and protect the planet from all possible threats. He ruled Eternia for many decades before finally passing away peacefully in his old age, his spirit forever to remain within the walls of Grayskull. His son, Dare, later took the throne of Eternia for himself, while over on Etheria, following the tragic deaths of Queen Glimmer's children in the final Horde War, Sade was crowned Queen of Etheria. Adora remained on her remote island home until the end of her days, respected as a heroine by all around her. Her death was never recorded; indeed some say she went on living and transcended death to travel to other realms. Both He-Man and She-Ra remain worshipped as deities by many throughout the universe. Maybe some day they will be seen to fight for justice again, lest the universe ever need them.

And so ends the greatest saga of the war between good and evil beknownst to the entire universe. The timeless struggles faced by humankind become mere inkblots on the canvas of history in the shadow of the overwhelming, perpetual nature of true universal peace proven by the great discoveries of the Council of the Wise, and the achievements of all their followers. Throughout universal history, there were geniuses and visionaries. Then there were heroes. Then there were saviors. Then there were...

**THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.**


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